Universal Language
by Ashana
Summary: Music is a universal language. It can be understood and spoken by all. At Freddy's, it's a large piece of the animatronics life. Will the new night guard be able to use it to survive her first week on the job?
1. Prologue: Roni

**Universal Language**

**Prologue: Roni**

Roni was bouncing on her toes as she waited for Mr. Fazbear to return. She was in the big dining area, which was filled with laughing children, sighing adults, and exhausted employees. The big stage at the front of the room had it's heavy red curtains closed, hiding the trio of famous singing animatronics from view. There was a clock hung above the stage, with blue and red stars where the numbers should have been. When she'd asked Fazbear about it, he'd explained that a new show started every hour, like clockwork (he'd chuckled to himself at the pun, finding it hilarious. She'd squeaked out an appreciative laugh, despite cringing inside at the obviously-practiced joke). If the hour hand was on a red star, it was a music set. If the hour hand was on a blue star, it was a comedy routine.

"Families spend hours here," he'd explained as he gave her a tour of the restaurant, "We don't want the parents and kids to see the same show all the time, so we mix it up." He'd left her then, heading for his office in order to retrieve her new uniform and an extra set of keys. She was still reeling a bit that he'd given her the job. He'd barely glanced at her resume (which had stung a little-she'd spent hours fretting over the piece of paper) before giving her the night guard job.

The nineteen-year-old absently chewed on a nail as the minute hand ticked closer and closer to the red star where the '12' should have sat. Some of the employees were corralling the kids (it looked like there had been a birthday party or four today) back to their tables, pointing at the stage and explaining that a show as about to start. The hour hand clicked toward the red star over the '2' spot.

"Here we are, dear." Fazbear had returned with a stack of clothing and items in his arms. He led the way over to an empty table at the back wall, opposite the stage. It was an extra-tall table with bar stool-style chairs, meant for visiting families, not large celebration groups. The tall chairs meant the parents could more easily see their children as they ran about. Fazbear dropped the items on the table, taking one of the seats. Roni sat opposite him, shoving her hands in her pockets to keep from chewing on her nails.

"This will be your uniform," Fazbear pulled a purple short-sleeved button-up shirt from the pile. It had a gold patch sewed over the left breast, boasting the words 'Freddy Fazbear Security' in bright red letters. A purple and black baseball cap with the same badge accompanied it. "You will be expected to wear either black or khaki pants with th shirt. Since you're the night guard, you don't have to wear the hat when you're on duty." He pulled a black leather belt from the pile. "This is your belt. There's spots here for your flashlight, baton, and mace." These three items he also pulled out, showing her how to clip them into their holsters, as well as how to remove them.

Roni raised a brow, doubting the need for such items. Sure, Freddy's was a popular restaurant, but it wasn't a bank or a jewelry store. The atrocities of eighteen years ago had long been forgotten – Freddy and his friends had been left alone for nearly ten years after the bite, before Fazbear re-branded and reopened the place. In the past eight years it had boomed, and peoples fears of the animatronics had faded. After all, it wasn't as though the animatronics were as advanced as their smartphones, right? They were nearly forty years old by now, and moved in a creaky, archaic fashion. The kids still loved them though, an with the tech-savvy generations becoming parents, the fear of another 'bite' incident had all but dissipated.

Fazbear cleared his throat, and Roni jerked her hand from her mouth – she'd been chewing on her thumb nail without realizing it. She flashed him a sheepish smile and accepted the belt. "Sorry, sir. I guess I'm still kind of nervous. This is my first job, after all."

The large man waved away her apology. "No need to say sorry, my dear! I remember my first job. I was a soda jockey – those were like waiters, you know – at a diner in my town. Was petrified when I first started – was sure I'd get an order wrong or drop a glass, or what have you, especially when there was a pretty girl at the counter." He winked above his bristling mustache, and Roni couldn't help but smile back. "Now, you'll be starting tonight. Your shift runs from midnight to six." He heaved his bulk out of the chair and leaned on the table while Roni gathered her uniform up. "As I'm sure you remember, it's minimum wage, though if you stick around long enough I might be able to give you a raise."

Roni slid out of her seat, uniform pressed to her chest to keep from dropping anything, when the lights suddenly dimmed. She squeaked, nearly tripped, and was eternally grateful that the cheering of the children drowned out her soft swear. Beside her Fazbear beamed and clapped his hands.

"Ah, it's two o'clock, on the dot!" He chuckled at his rhyme as the heavy red curtains slid back, revealing a band that was like nothing else in the world. The main singer was a large, brown bear with small round ears and a large muzzle. He was smiling, showing a mechanical jaw of square, white teeth. His eyes were a bright, almost unnatural shade of blue. He had a top hat and a bow tie, both black, and a large microphone in his hand. To his right was a purple rabbit with long, sectioned ears that flopped over at the top. His eyes were purple as well, and his smile was equally square and disturbing. A bright red guitar matched his red bow tie. He was holding it tightly, the fingers of his right hand twitching over the strings. To Freddy's left was a – well, a bird. Roni couldn't quite decide whether it was a chicken or a duck. It was yellow, with feathers sticking up from her head. It was a she, Roni decided, since it had a purple cupcake plushie and a name that, in Spanish, literally meant 'girl.' Her large pink eyes had darker circles around them than the other two. They were set above an orange beak which, oddly enough, had the same square teeth as the others. A white bib around her neck proclaimed 'Let's Eat!' in yellow and purple letters.

The new night guard grimaced – as much as the kids loved these singing, talking robots, she found them incredibly creepy and disturbing. Glancing through the dimmed lighting, she could see several adults sharing her thoughts, if the raised eyebrows and concerned whispers were anything to go by.

The animatronics began to talk, their speech stuttering at some points as the large mouths (and beak, in the chicken-ducks case) clapped open and closed in time with the recordings. After a few bad puns (though none as bad as the aforementioned 'clockwork' joke) and some playful bickering between the bear and the rabbit, they began to sing. Several of the children cheered and sang with them, though they were unable to drown out the cheesy music and self-promoting lyrics. Every song was some kind of jingle promoting their pizzas or the arcade room. Between each song they joked with each other or encouraged the kids to buy more pizza (that was mostly the chicken-duck) in their unsettling tinny voices. At one point the bear mentioned something called 'Foxy' but the words seemed to cut out halfway through the sentence, and the three launched into another song.

After six of these songs, and several more puns that Roni's father would have _loved_, the robots said goodbye and the curtain slid closed. The lights slowly regained their previous brilliance. Fazbear clapped Roni on the shoulder, gushing about the robots and how they were his pride and joy.

"That's what you'll be protecting," he explained, gently pressing against her shoulder, turning her towards the doors. They walked towards the exit, past the counter where families checked in. "We've had instances of vandalism in the past, and it'll be up to you to keep them safe."

"I'll do my best, sir. I swear." Roni might have found them creepy, but this man was obviously very fond of the robots. He'd been nice enough to hire her without any previous experience, and even if it was just six hours a night, thirty hours a week, it was still a job.

Fazbear pulled a ring of keys from his pocket and placed them atop the clothing she had in her arms. "That's what I want to hear!" He made a shooing motion. "Now go rest up. Your shift starts at twelve o'clock, sharp. It'd be best if you came in a few minutes early to set up your workstation, though."

"I'll be here early, sir."

"Good lass!"

Humming happily, Roni bounced on her toes as she walked away from the happy pizzeria, certain she had found the perfect job.


	2. Chapter 1: Bonnie

**Universal Language**

**Chapter 1: Bonnie**

It wasn't long past midnight that Roni found herself absolutely, terrifically _bored_. Bored. Bo-red. B-O-R-EH-D. Bore. Boring. Bored. Boreding.

She scrunched her forehead in thought. _Boreding_ wasn't a word, was it? Well, it should have been! This job was _boreding_.

"Gift horse," she reminded herself, sitting up and rolling her chair back towards the desk, "Don't look 'em in the mouth." A quick flip through the cameras on the tablet revealed nothing out of the ordinary. The only thing to be heard was the buzzing fluorescent lights and the soft _swoosh_ of the fan blades from the desk. If something wasn't done about this deafening silence, it would drive her crazy.

Double checking that there was, indeed, NOT a camera anywhere in the office, Roni decided to risk it. Throwing the baseball cap on the desk, she dug into her purse and pulled out a red iPod and a battery-powered set of speakers. The two were quickly connected and set up on the desk. Within a minute, Bruno Mars blared from the speakers.

The girl beamed, turning up the volume before standing and stretching. She double checked the cameras, toes tapping as she did so, and once again saw nothing out of ordinary. The first verse of the song reached it's crescendo.

"Don't believe me, just watch!" Roni sang along with the iPod, swaying her hips as she stretched her arms over her head. She and Bruno sang the rest of the song, voices drowning out the sound of the phone ringing, and of a nervous young man leaving a message with a dire warning.

'Sugar' by Maroon 5 followed, distracting her from checking the tablet. Then came Meghan Trainor and Lady Gaga. Some Bob Dylan slipped through, and she switched to her Old Rock playlist. Billy Joel and John Lennon warbled through the speakers, punctuated by David Bowie and Michael Jackson every once in a while.

It was three o'clock and she was sitting in the twirly chair sideways, legs over one arm and lolling her head back as she sang when she realized she had an audience. Her voice died in the middle of 'Piano Man,' leaving Billy Joel to finish the wistful lyrics on his own. The purple bunny was standing on the ceiling, staring at her.

Wait, no, her head was upside down. She scrambled upright, the chair swinging back and forth beneath her, and the world righted itself. The purple bunny was standing in the left doorway, staring at her with his big eyes. Roni swallowed, hard, as she gazed up at the robot. It was easily a foot taller than her, and she was 5'8 or so. That meant the rabbit, excluding his ears, had to be almost seven feet tall.

Fazbear had mentioned something about a free-roaming mode at night. He'd said the robots got up and moved around, but she hadn't thought they'd be able to go _off_ the _stage!_ How could these forty-year-old robots navigate the steps well enough to climb down without falling? No matter how loud she'd had her music, she was certain she would have heard a ton of metal crashing to the ground.

The rabbit took a step into the room, and Roni took a step back, placing the chair between them. It's head tilted, ears falling to the side. They were jointed, she could see, flopping down two-thirds of the way to the top. The costume he was wearing wasn't just metal, like she'd thought, but furry. It almost looked like velvet, and for one crazy minute she wanted to reach out and feel the rabbits arm, wondering if it was as soft as it looked. The rabbits ears twitched, and _rotated_ towards the desk, making Roni snort. They certainly weren't going for ANY biological accuracy with these things, were they?

The rabbit followed his ears, walking towards the desk, his eyes locked on the iPod. The last strands of Piano Man died out, and Roni swallowed and pulled the chair over to the desk, keeping it between her and the robot, just in case.

"Do you-" _Oh jeeze this was stupid she was talking to a robot! _"-do you like music?"

The rabbit turned his head to look at her, having to tilt his head down to see past his muzzle. He slowly nodded. Roni swallowed again, and nodded back. "Me, uh, me too."

The next song on the list began to play, a synthesized rocket sound followed quickly by drum beats. Roni instantly perked up as a pair of guitars began to strum out the basic melody of the song. She beamed up at the rabbit. "This is one of my favorite songs!" The girl told him as Billy Joel began listing headlines that set the world aflame. The robot stared at her for a moment, then turned his head to look at the iPod as 'We Didn't Start the Fire' continued on. Roni hummed along, bouncing her head in tune to the lyrics.

As the song wound down, the robot slowly reached out to touch the device. Roni nearly reached out to stop him, remembered their size difference, and decided to wait and see what he was going to do. Bon Jovi's 'It's My Life' began to ring out as the large, purple fingers brushed against the small red device. It was an older model, about as big as Roni's palm, but against the robots hands it almost looked like a shuffle. Using two fingers, the rabbit grasped the device and pulled it up, intending to look more closely at it.

"Oh, wait, you'll-!" Roni's warning came too late as the iPod disconnected from the dock, killing the song before the second verse could start. The rabbit froze, his eyes widening. He turned to look down at her again, and for a second Roni could have sworn she saw something akin to guilt in the purple glass eyes.

She gave him a hesitant smile. "Don't worry, I can fix it." Carefully – the chair still between them – she reached out and grabbed the iPod. The rabbit released it, and she set it back in the speaker dock. 'It's My Life' began to blare once more. "There, see? No harm done!" Without thinking, she patted his arm. His fur was as soft as it looked, and Roni couldn't help but wonder why they would make the rabbit so soft if nobody got to touch him.

It was nearly four o'clock before Roni remembered that she had to check the cameras. She flicked through them, noting that the bear was the only one on the stage. The rabbit was here with her, so that left the chicken-duck-thing missing. She flipped through the rest of the cameras, until the one labeled 'kitchen' popped up. There was a rattling of metal accompanying a black screen saying 'audio only.'

The mystery of the missing chicken-duck-thing solved, Roni put the tablet back down and looked at the rabbit. It was still watching the iPod, it's ears twitching as the music continued on. Carefully considering the robot, Roni pulled the swirly chair closer and sat on it, one leg folded up beneath her. "You, uh, you play guitar, right? Up on the stage?"

The robot turned his eyes back to her and nodded.

"I've got some songs on here that have great guitars," Roni reached out to grab the iPod. The rabbit grabbed her arm, stopping her and scaring her out of her wits. He was looking between her and the iPod, and for a second she could swear he looked _worried_.

Roni took a deep breath (glad that she hadn't screamed like a little girl when he'd grabbed her arm) and forced a smile. "Don't worry, I won't break it. I just want to switch to a different song." After a moment, the rabbit relented his grip, and she could pull the iPod and speaker dock closer to her. She paused the music and flipped through her albums, stopping on one she was sure he would like. Setting up the album to play straight through, she pressed play.

Immediately, deep and soulful guitar chords filled the room. The rabbit stared in amazement at the tiny machine that was making the noise. Roni reached out and patted his soft, furry arm once more.

"Bunny, meet Jimmy Hendrix."

* * *

At ten to six, the rabbit reluctantly shuffled out of the room without a word to Roni. The girl was curled up on the swirly chair, one leg dangling over the edge, toe gently pushing against the grimy tile as she slowly spun herself around. She had checked the cameras a few other times that morning, but the chicken-duck-thing and the bear hadn't moved. The rabbit hadn't moved much after Hendrix came on – he'd been enraptured by the tiny red machine that blared the music, only shifting his gaze when Roni grabbed the tablet, or when she had spun the chair too fast and fallen out, smacking her shoulder against the desk. Other than that, the room had been rather still.

As soon as the rabbit moved through the door, Roni grabbed the tablet and watched through the cameras as he shuffled down the hall and into the dining room. The bear and chicken-duck-thing (who had returned to the stage) turned their heads to look at him. Their jaws flapped up and down, but since the cameras didn't have sound (aside from the kitchen), she couldn't hear whatever pre-recorded comments they were making.

The clock struck six, and a bell rang through the building, along with the cheering of children. Roni shut off her iPod (which was on it's last little bit of power) and packed it and the speaker dock in her purse. She pushed the chair under the desk, wiped off the front of the tablet with her hand (which didn't do the smudges any good), and left the security booth. Fazbear had just unlocked the front door and was stepping through, dressed in a smart suit, a bowler hat tucked under his arm. He looked like a slick business man that had just stepped out of the 1920s.

"Good morning Mr. Fazbear!"

He leapt at least a foot off the floor, dropping his hat. Clutching the fabric above his chest, he turned to look at her. "Oh, Miss Roni." He sighed, picking up his bowler hat and brushing it off. "Good lord, you gave me quite a fright."

"Sorry, sir."

"How did the night go? Any, er, surprises?"

Roni adjusted her purse over her shoulder. "Well, I didn't realize the robots could get off the stage and walk around. I was surprised when the rabbit popped up at the door!" She laughed a bit, but stopped when she saw that Fazbear was frowning.

"Miss Roni, these are not robots," he motioned to the stage, where the three musicians stood stock still, "They are animatronics. They are much more advanced than mere _robots_. Understand?"

"Er, yes sir." Roni nodded to back up her words.

"Good. Now, this is not a rabbit." He motioned to the purple rob-er, animatronic. "This is Bonnie the Bunny, the guitarist of the band. This is Freddy Fazbear, the lead singer and official mascot of Freddy Fazbear's Family Pizzeria. Beside him is Chica the Chicken, who sings back up vocals."

"Ah, okay. Well, I got to meet Bonnie last night, then." Roni smiled.

Fazbear kept his gaze on her, almost as though expecting her to say something else. She smiled nervously under his gaze, not sure what he wanted her to say. After a minute of his unnerving gaze, he snorted and shook his head. "Alright, go home and get some rest."

"Yes, sir." She beamed as he turned and shuffled towards his office, looking seriously confused and unsure of something. She shrugged – it wasn't her business, after all – and turned to the stage. "Bye, Bonnie! I'll see you tonight." She waved to the purple bunny and happily bounced out of the restaurant, quite certain this was one of the best jobs in the world.

Behind her, Bonnie's arm twitched, before belatedly rising to wave as the girl disappeared into the outside world.


	3. Chapter 2: Chica

**Universal Language**

**Chapter 2: Chica**

Roni did not get a chance to become boreding on Tuesday night. Or was it Wednesday morning? Either way, as soon as the clock struck twelve, Bonnie was bouncing down the left hallway. The night guard watched him on the tablet, grinning when she heard his padded footsteps approaching. Neither the chicken nor bear had moved yet, though she could have sworn the purple-starred curtains that took up the video of 'Pirates Cove' had twitched when she flipped through that camera feed. She assumed it was the air conditioning and worried more about setting up her iPod.

"Hi, Bonnie!" She greeted as soon as the rab - er, bunny entered the room. His ears twitched and he looked around the desk for the red device. "I was just setting it up. Had it charging all day so we can listen all night!" She flicked on the mp3 player and used the wheel to scroll through her music. Bonnie crept closer to the desk, coming to stand right beside her as she fiddled with it.

"Hey!" Her shout made the animatronic jump. "I get radio reception in here!" She scrolled the areas stations, then looked up at her purple friend. "Do you want to listen to the radio tonight? There's a great alt-rock station that has music all night long! Lots of guitar playing, I promise."

The bunny bobbed his head eagerly, ears twitching and flopping. To her surprise, he sat down beside the desk, crossing his legs neatly like a kindergartner called to circle time. She grinned a bit at the sight, and set the iPod to 83.4 FM, the Alt Rock Revolution. Muse flowed through the speakers, and she set the player on the desk and rested the tablet on her lap, flipping through it every time she grew bored of listening and watching Bonnie bobble-head his way through a song.

It was during one of these scans that she noticed the chicken had moved off the stage. She scrolled through the cameras lazily – these robots, pardon, _animatronics _weren't dangerous, Bonnie was proof enough of that. The chicken was in the right hallway near the kitchen, where she'd been all last night. Roni shrugged it off – she didn't care if the chicken made a mess in the kitchen, that was the custodians worry – and set the tablet on the desk beside the iPod. Bonnie glanced away from the music player for only a moment, then returned his gaze when a fast-talking man began to list the rules for a 'win-a-car' contest.

After a few more minutes of ads (many of the light-night TV variety that promoted miracle weight-loss cures and local spaces for rent), Roni noticed they were being watched. The hairs on the back of her neck rose up, and using her toes she pushed the swirly chair around to face the right doorway.

Chica the Chicken stood there, head tilted to the side as her pink glass eyes roved between Bonnie, Roni, and the mp3 player. She took a step into the room, finally catching Bonnie's attention. The bunny leapt to his feet – with much more grace than Roni would have thought an animatronic could possess – and moved towards his yellow band mate. They stared at each other, no pre-recorded words passing between them. The night guard stayed in her chair, not interested in interrupting the two from whatever they were doing.

A new guitar riff cut through the odd tension, smothering it before Roni noticed it was there. Bonnie immediately turned back to the mp3 player, ears perked up, and he came to stand beside the humans side, listening as a woman began to sing.

_How can I decide what's right? When you're clouding up my mind?_

Chica's eyes – or were they optics? - were riveted on the mp3 player now. She took another step into the room but stopped there when Bonnie sent her a glare. Roni shot her a smile, and it seemed like the chickens beak tried to lift up at the corners to return it. The woman (who was the lead singer of Paramore, according to Roni's Shazam app) warbled through the rest of the song, fading out as an accordion heralded the next.

"KONGOS!" Roni managed to make both animatronics jump that time as she leapt out of her chair and grabbed the iPod, turning the volume up. As soon as the clapping began alongside the baseline, she joined in, bouncing in place with the music. Both animatronics watched her – Chica in confusion, Bonnie in amusement. After a moment, the latter began clapping alongside her. Roni faced him and laughed, as they both kept the beat up through the first half of the song.

After the longer, drawn-out notes of the middle, Roni turned to beam at Chica. "Join us, girl!" She laughed, reaching out to grab the metal chickens hand and pull her closer. Of course she couldn't actually _pull_ the six-hundred-pound or so robot closer, but Chica obliged and joined them by the desk. After a moment of watched Bonnie and Roni clap, she began to put her feathered hands together as well. They continued, Roni still giggling, until the song drew to a close.

"I _love_ that band! I mean, who uses accordions now-a-days? That and harmonicas. What ever happened to those instruments?" The night guard fell back into the chair, snatching up the tablet and flipping through the cameras. Unseen to her, Bonnie sent a warning look to Chica, who returned it with a shake of her head. The purple bunny pointed towards the stage and shook his head again. After a moments thought, Chica's shoulders slumped, and she nodded.

"Oh!" Roni interrupted their silent conversation. "I should introduce you guys to Imagine Dragons!"

* * *

One discography later (plus two repeats of Demons; Bonnie liked the guitar in the beginning, and Roni found it impossible to say no to his big, pink eyes) dawn was approaching, and the night guard's energy was flagging. As the clock ticked past 5:45, she shut off the iPod and shoved it and the dock in her bag. Bonnie and Chica, now both sitting on the floor in order to listen, glanced up at her.

"Sorry guys, it's almost six o'clock," she explained. The both immediately climbed to their feet, and Chica left without a word. Bonnie stayed, watching as Roni gathered her things. As soon as she stood, the purple rabbit enveloped her in a gentle hug. She squeaked in surprise, then returned it, beaming at him. "Aw, thanks big guy! I'll see you tonight, okay?"

The bunny nodded, ears flopping in that silly way that made the night guard smile, and left the room. As soon as 5:59 crept onto her cell phone screen, Roni left her office, heading for the front doors. It was Wednesday, the slowest day of the week, so the restaurant wouldn't be opening until noon. Mr. Fazbear wouldn't be there until at least ten, leaving Roni to lock up after her.

"Night, guys!" She waved at the stage before leaving, locking the door behind her. Bonnie raised his hand and gave a small wave. After a seconds hesitation, so did Chica.

* * *

The second the endoskeleton was out of sight, Freddy took a step back so he could see both Chica and Bonnie, who were standing on either side of him, at the same time. Fazbear wouldn't be in until ten or ten-thirty, giving them nearly four extra hours of mobility.

"Bonnie," his voice, lightly touched with a southern-mountain accent that the kids found hilarious, was soft as he smiled at the bunny. The purple animatronic carefully turned to face the boss, clutching his guitar. "Would you care to explain why after two nights of being in the security office, the endo is still not. In. A. Suit?" By the end of the sentence the bears large, square teeth were grinding together, and his bright blue eyes were narrowed in fury.

The rabbit took a step back, and had he been human he would have gulped. "I, uh, I don't think it is an endo." He admitted.

Freddy raised one perfectly painted brow, the anger not leaving his eyes. "Really? And what is it then?"

"It's a human." Chica moved to stand beside Bonnie, "And it's not an 'it', it's a she."

Freddy turned his flashing gaze to her, waiting for elaboration.

"She can leave every morning," the chicken pointed out, "And Mr. Fazbear didn't stop her to put he in a suit when she left yesterday. And she has new music that we haven't heard before! It has to be from outside here."

"That's your argument?" Freddy barred his teeth. "Just because _it_ is a new model with new music does _not _mean it's human. And Fazbear isn't strong enough to shove an endo in a suit; that's why it's OUR job to do so!"

"Don't yell at her!" Bonnie shoved Chica behind him, dropping his guitar to the stage floor. He faltered when the boss bear growled, eyes and mouth flashing for a moment. Chica grabbed the bunnies arm, peering over his shoulder with wide eyes.

"You are to stay away from the security office until this new endo is in a suit." The bear hissed. "Chica, you are limited to the kitchen. Bonnie, you are not to leave the stage room." He turned and stormed off the stage, leaving the two dumbstruck animatronics behind him.

"Foxy!" The bear bellowed as he crossed the room. "You're up!"

* * *

**AN: **Oh my gosh, thank you so much for the follows and reviews! This was just a plot bunny, but I'm glad people like it. There's only a few more weeks left in the semester, so I might lag a bit between updates, but I have the story planned out so it will get done. I really appreciate any and all reviews!

Keep on dancing!

**Review Notes**:

**Shark Lord: **I hadn't thought of putting purple guy in the story. Maybe that'll happen later on!

**elatedrune: **a;lskjfoieyauhrjbngtse,fdjmvcnbnverjkj Thank You!

**LynxbyLynx: **Thank you thank you thank you! I LOVE constructive feedback, because it helps me become a better writer, and I appreciate your input so much! No, Bonnie isn't my fave. He and Chica showed up first because that's the pattern in the game. The toys might show up if, after the first arc is done, y'all want to see more. Thanks again – your compliments cheered me up right before I took a huge test, and I appreciate it so much! :D


	4. Chapter 3: Foxy

**Universal Language**

**Chapter 3: Foxy**

Foxy waited eagerly for the night to begin. It had been years since he got a first crack at the guard endo, but that morning Freddy had assured him that the newbie was all his. Apparently, the endo was a newer model, and rather crafty. It already had both Bonnie and Chica fooled into thinking it was a human! The canine animatronic shook his head and chuckled to himself as he polished his hook. Those lily-livered land-lubbers were far too susceptible to their whimsical ideals. It was no wonder Freddy had assigned him to suit up the endo. The bear preferred not to get his hands dirty if he could avoid it; he was low on spare parts, and the restaurant wasn't big on cleaning them up.

The front door of the restaurant opened, pinging the bell that let employees and animatronics alike know there were new guests to be entertained. It was far past closing time, meaning there was only one individual it could be: the night guard. Foxy let off polishing his hook and got to his feet, hobbling towards the spot where the purple star-spangled curtains met. He peered through them, careful not to show his snout, as the guard entered the stage room. Interestingly, instead of bolting right to the office, it approached the show stage and began to speak.

"Hey Bonnie, Chica, I have some bad news." The guards voice sounded stressed, as though there was a lot of pressure on the circuits. "My mp3 player's busted, so not music tonight. Sorry." It vented air through it's system. "Donnie was – well, it was an accident. Anyway, I won't be able to get a new one any time soon." The endo scratched it's head, which had some sort of short, decorative red fur attached. Foxy had never understood why the designers did that – the endo was not meant to be seen, so why decorate it? "I guess I could use my phone, but the speakers aren't that great on it..." It lifted it's head and glanced at the clock above the stage. "I'd better get to the office. Feel free to swing by, all of you. I'd love to officially meet you, Mr. Freddy." The endo clapped it's hands, flashed a weak smile, then turned and headed down the west hallway to the office.

As soon as it was out of sight, the band came to life. Freddy seized Bonnie's arm in an iron grip before the bunny could run after the endo and warn it about Foxy. Chica was torn between making a run for the office while Freddy was distracted or going to the kitchen like she'd been told to. When Foxy emerged from the curtains, she decided it would be safer in the kitchen and quickly slipped away to the swinging double doors.

"I can't believe you're doing this Freddy!" Bonnie snapped, wincing as the bears grip tightened. "I'm telling you, the night guard is a _human_!"

Foxy ran his hook along his jaw, glaring at the rabbit. "Belay that treacherous talk, rabbit." He snapped, taking a step towards the stage. "It be an endo, just like every guard before it."

"Foxy, _please!_" Bonnie's voice box cracked as he plead with the pirate. "She's not an endo. She's a human. If you hurt her or try to put her in a suit, she'll _die!_"

The fox sneered and jabbed his hook in the rabbit's direction. "Ye be daft, rabbit. It be an endo, and it be suiting up tonight." He spun around, tail flicking, and stalked into the shadows that emerged as midnight rang in.

Freddy smiled in satisfaction, releasing the stunned purple bunny. He easily dodged the blow said bunny immediately threw at his face, and simply raised a brow at the trembling guitarist.

"I never pictured you as a murderer." Bonnie seethed, before leaping off the stage and disappearing into the supplies closet, locking the door behind him. He knew better than to go against Freddy's direct orders – he had no desire to be torn apart limb-by-limb. Freddy was not normally violent; he could be downright genteel when it came to it. He would, however, assert his power as their leader if it was every questioned. Instead, he crouched by the door, praying to whatever god existed for sentient robots that Foxy would come to his senses before the night guard came to any harm.

* * *

Roni had forgone the chair and was instead sitting on the desk, legs crossed, tablet on her lap. She'd thrown the lingering trash from the day guard in the bin, and put the fan on the ground. While moving everything, her elbow had bumped into the poster tacked up above the desk, eliciting a squeak from Freddy's nose. She laughed for a solid minute before hopping up on the desk, making herself comfortable for the long haul.

Only a minute after she had settled in, a large animatronic she had yet to see bounded into the room, menacing the empty twirly chair with his hook. He was tall (taller than Bonnie!), with red fur and one yellow eye. The other eye was covered with a black patch. He had a hook hand, and his legs were brown in color, as though he was wearing pants. There was a hole in his chest, his jaw was hanging loose, and the suit around his legs had been worn away.

"Er, hello?" She said after a few seconds of him glaring at the empty chair. His head snapped to the side, and he rose to his full height, glowering down at her. Roni gave him a lopsided smile, one brow raised in amusement. She didn't know who this animatronic was or where he'd come from, but she had to admit that he struck a very impressive picture.

The animatronic took a step forward, barring his teeth as a low growl left his voice box. Roni turned off the tablet and set it in her lap, giving him her full attention.

"I haven't seen you before." She glanced at the poster with the squeaking Freddy nose above the desk. "You're not on any of the promotional material, and Mr. Fazbear didn't say anything about another animatronic hanging around." She eyed his hook and eye patch. "You're a pirate, right?"

"A-a-ayyyeeeee." The animatronic growled, his jaw clacking menacingly.

"Neat!" Roni swung her legs over the edge of the desk and kicked them back and forth, peering up at the robot quite happily. "This is so cool – a hidden animatronic! And you're a pirate to boot! I can't wait to tell Donnie – he'll be so jealous! Oh, Donnie's my little brother. He loves pirates!" The guard chewed on her thumb as she eyed the menacing fox once more. "So what's your name?"

* * *

Foxy was confused.

Very, very confused.

He'd never met a guard endo who didn't scream bloody murder at the sight of him. Hell, he hadn't been called 'neat' or 'cool' since the bite of '87, nearly thirty years ago. This endo wasn't afraid at all – it was talking quite casually to him, as though he were a new friend instead of an enemy there to stuff it in a suit. He snapped his jaw shut in frustration, not sure what to do. Panic made both people and animatronics stupid, and that was his favorite tactic. Make the naked endo panic, and he could overpower them and drag them off to be suited. This endo wasn't following the script, and Foxy wasn't sure what to do next.

"So what's your name?"

That pulled him from his thoughts. He stared down at the red-furred endo, who stared back with patient, green optics. Automatically, he opened his mouth and his pre-recorded greeting stuttered out.

"I-I-I be F-Foxy, Capta-ta-tain of the Salty S-Sea F-Fox."

The endo clapped it's hands (it apparently did this a lot to express joy or excitement), and swung it's legs back and forth. "It's nice to meet you, Captain Foxy, sir! I be Roni, the night guard of this fine establishment!"

"A-a-ayeeee?" The growl wasn't nearly as self-assured now.

"Aye!" It – Roni – giggled, an oddly fluid sound for a voice box. It must have been since it was a newer model. It's mouth opened to ask something more, when a mechanical scream rent the still air of the restaurant.

The endo slipped off the edge of the desk in surprise, fumbling to catch the tablet before it hit the ground. Foxy reared back as it moved, his ears swiveling as he tried to find the source of the scream. Roni threw the tablet on the desk and dashed towards the doorway for the east hall.

"It came from over here!" It glanced back over it's shoulder at the larger animatronic. "I think it was Chica, from the kitchen. C'mon!" It took off down the hall.

Foxy, feeling a bit lost and out of his depth with this new model of endoskeleton, followed.

* * *

Freddy was wrenched out of his musings when he heard Chica scream. He threw his gaze upwards and huffed in annoyance. The silly chicken was always finding something to complain about lately. He was beginning to think it was because she was bored of helping with the food prep, or spending her nights with Bonnie or Foxy. Perhaps he should mix up Bonnie and Chica's jobs...

Light footsteps pulled him from his musings. He was still on the stage, resting his aching joints from the busy day they'd had. A snarl crossed his maw as the endo appeared, sans-suit, racing down the east hallway. It pulled a sharp right and crashed through the kitchen doors. Thankfully, Foxy was racing right after it, teeth braced in a snarl. He skidded on the floor as he tried to make the same turn, nearly falling over before bursting through the still-swinging double doors.

Freddy smirked in satisfaction. The endo was as good as suited now. Chica might try to get in Foxy's way, what with her silly notions of it being a human, but the fox wouldn't stop until he'd carried out Freddy's orders. The captain was a good crew member, after all.

The bear settled back on his heels and shut his eyes, relaxing as he waited for their newest friend to be suited up.

* * *

Roni stopped just inside the kitchen doors, staring in awe at the large kitchen. There were ceiling-high ovens, counters galore, and a large island in the center that was currently covered in bowls, flour, tomatoes, and other pizza-baking ingredients. Some of those ingredients were coating the floor, as was a heavy dusting of flour. In the middle of it all sat Chica.

The bird was covered in flour, tomato sauce, and what looked like olive oil. She had apparently fallen while carrying too many ingredients, and given herself a pizza-flavored bath. Roni giggled as she picked her way over to the chicken, who grimaced at being seen in such a state.

"Are you okay?" The human asked as Foxy burst through the doors behind her. Chica let out a static-filled burst that startled the guard, and made the fox stop in his tracks. Roni rubbed her ears to rid them of the sudden ringing, missing the death glare the chicken was giving her newest friend.

"Okay, ow." Roni shook her head a bit to get rid of the rest of the cacophony, then reached out to grab Chica's hand. "C'mon, up you get, Chica." She tugged on the hand, before remembering that Chica was a 600-plus ton mechanical beast. The chicken instinctively pulled back on her hand, and the guard was thrown off balance, landing face first beside Chica in the flour and sauce.

A giant plume of white rose as the flour was disturbed. "Oh gosh, ew, flour up my nose, ewwww!" Roni scrambled upright, trying to brush the white from her black pants and purple shirt. "Oh ew, that's grossssssss!" She groaned, stepping around Chica to a bit of clean floor behind the bird.

* * *

By the doors, Foxy tilted his head, looking between Chica and the guard. Said guard was currently clawing at it's tongue, trying to get the taste of raw flour from it's mouth. Foxy's already broken jaw dropped lower.

Taste.

Endo's couldn't taste.

Add that to the previously-unseen friendly demeanor, the complete lack of knowledge about Foxy (which would have been standard in ANY Freddy Fazbear Animatronics data base), the speech about her brother (the Fazbear band and Foxy considered themselves a family, but never by the terms of 'brother' and 'sister'), and it's inability to pull Chica off the floor led to only one conclusion.

It wasn't an animatronic.

And if it wasn't an animatronic, it could only be one thing.

Human.

* * *

Said human grabbed a plastic cup beside one of the large sinks and filled it with tap water, using it to rinse out her mouth and wash off her hands. Once sure the tongue-drying taste was gone, she turned to face the animatronics, brushing flour from her hair. Chica was pulling herself up off the floor, looking rather apologetic at the mess she had caused. Foxy was standing by the door, staring at her. She guessed she must have looked pretty ridiculous, wearing the beginnings of a pizza pie.

"Well, this is not a happy mess." She muttered, walking over to stand by Chica and observe the floor. "I don't suppose there are any mops or brooms in here, huh?"

The bird tilted her head to the side, starring at the fox across from her. After a moment, she let out a softer burst of static. The fox lifted his head, nodded, and disappeared through the swinging double doors.

"Where's he going?"

Chica just made a 'wait and see' motion with her arms – wings? - and set about looking through the many drawers for something. After a minute she found a drawer full of rags and began to pull them out, placing them by the sink. Roni scowled at the idea of cleaning up the whole mess using rags, and had just grabbed one to wash her face with, when the doors swung back open.

Foxy entered, carrying a blue bucket filled to the rim with hot, soapy water. Bonnie followed, two brooms and a mop thrown over one shoulder. He winked at Roni as he entered, setting the tools down to lean against the island. He inspected the mess, then looked up at Chica with a wide grin.

The bird was busy cleaning herself off with the wet rags she had amassed. Roni wiped off her face, then set about helping clean the birds back, which she couldn't reach. She grimaced at the bits of dough and dried pizza sauce she found among the feathers.

"When was the last time you had a bath?" She asked rhetorically, pulling a fossilized pepperoni out of the birds neck joint. The animatronic made a whistling noise in response and kept scrubbing herself. Once Chica was relatively clean (and, in fact, shiny, with the olive oil in her feathers) the two joined Bonnie and Foxy in sweeping up the floor and wiping tomato sauce off the cabinets. With all four of them working, the mess was cleaned up in no time, and Roni sat back on her heels with a tired sigh.

Unfortunately, Bonnie had noticed how shiny Chica looked. He grabbed a new bottle of olive oil off the island and broke the top open, before pouring it all over himself. Thankfully, Foxy smacked him before Roni could do it herself, saving her hand a nice bruise. She groaned as the bunny began preening, rubbing the oil into his fur, and shared an eye roll with Chica. The chicken grabbed a few of the last clean rags and threw them at the bunny with an angry whistling noise. The rabbit 'chittered' back and then got to work rubbing the oil all over his suit. Foxy ended up helping him with his back, while Roni hopped up on the counter beside Chica and watched the three with an amused smile.

Honestly, despite the lousy pay and dim lighting, it was the best job she'd ever had.

* * *

**AN: **I am having way too much fun writing these. I haven't done just a silly fic in so long, so writing this has been great fun! Roni will finally meet Freddy in the next chapter, so stay tuned! As always, thank you for the reviews and insights. Please review if you're enjoying it, and let me know what I can do better.


	5. Chapter 4: Freddy

**Universal Language**

**Chapter 4: Freddy**

Mr. Fazbear was beginning to doubt the sanity of his newest employee.

He popped in early Thursday morning, prepared for the worst as always. What his worst did not include was the night guard standing on one of the tables in the main dining room, helping a rather fluffed up Foxy get flour and dough out of the fur on his head. She was dragging a fine tooth comb through the mess, a wet rag thrown over one shoulder of her stained and flour-coated uniform, and chatting comfortably to the animatronic about nothing in particular. Neither of them noticed Mr. Fazbear, who was trying to remember if he'd Irished up his coffee that morning.

After pinching himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming or hallucinating, he cleared his throat. Both human and animatronic heads whipped around to stare at him with equally shocked expressions on their faces. Roni recovered first, sticking the comb in her back pocket and dusting off her hands.

"Er, good morning sir! Gee, is it six o'clock already?" She let out a nervous laugh.

The man simply crossed his arms and stared at the both of them. The guard wilted a bit.

"There was a bit of a disaster in the kitchen last night," she admitted, running a hand through her tomato-sauce jelled hair, which stuck up in response. Fazbear raised a brow, waiting for her to continue. "Chica fell in the kitchen and made a bit of a mess. Foxy, Bonnie, and I helped her clean it up, but then Bonnie saw how the olive oil Chica spilled on herself made her look shiny," she trailed off and shrugged, motioning to the stage. Both Chica and Bonnie were looking sparkly and new beneath the bright stage lights. "So yeah, the kitchen is down a bottle of olive oil."

Fazbear tilted his head, walking closer to inspect the messy fox animatronic. "That doesn't explain what happened to Foxy here."

"Oh, well, Foxy smacked Bonnie for making a mess, so after Bonnie was all cleaned up he dumped a bag of flour over Foxy's head. That was at about, uh," the guard tilted her head, eyes wandering to the clock hung over the stage, "five, I think? Chica dragged Bonnie back to the stage, while Foxy and I swept up the flour. Then we came out here so I could stand on a chair to reach Foxy's head and help clean him off. That wasn't tall enough though, so I stood on the table instead. Being short around these guys is a real pain in the butt."

The fox beside her opened his mouth and let out a pre-recorded 'yar har har!' in response.

"Oh hush," Roni elbowed him in his side. Well, his hip – she was too short to reach his side.

Fazbear was speechless. He looked between the pair, then glanced over at the stage and the two extra-shiny animatronics. Over the years he'd hired dozens of guards, most of whom had run after the first night or two, but this one – she was shoving _Foxy_. FOXY, of all the animatronics. And he was _laughing_.

Heaving a sigh, the man pinched his nose and shook his head. "Foxy, back to your cove please. I don't even know how you're walking around after six am," he peered at the fox from beneath bushy salt-and-pepper brows, "And I don't _want _to know."

The animatronic winked (at least he thought it was a wink – he could only see one eye, so it could have been a blink), patted Roni on the shoulder, and wandered off to his little stage. The girl waved after him, then turned to smile apologetically at her boss.

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't know Foxy wasn't allowed out after six."

He waved away her apology. "It's of no consequence," he walked past her, heading for his office. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, Miss Byrd."

Fazbear had almost made it to the sanity of his office when a small hand caught his elbow. "Wait, sir!"

Oh god, an Irished up coffee was sounding _so _good right now. He looked at the night guard hanging onto his arm. "Yes?"

Roni smiled – a brilliant, mischievous smile that made her green eyes sparkle. "I was wondering if I could ask a favor?"

Deep, deep down, Fazbear's instincts told him to say no. They were _screaming _at him, in fact, insisting that anything this...this..._imp_ had to ask would be disastrous for the company. He sighed again – he was doing an awful lot of that this morning, he noted, and asked.

"What do you need?"

* * *

Five to midnight, Foxy poked his snout out of the curtains. Unlike the others, he wasn't held to one spot until those hours between midnight and six. The scraping of a key in the lock grabbed his attention, and he watched as Roni entered with a black bag thrown over one shoulder, and a silver box in her arms. She dropped those on the table nearest the back wall, then breezed past Foxy's cove to the office.

Midnight struck, and the three on the stage stretched as their servos unlocked. The pirate left his cove and wandered over to the table to inspect the bag and box. Bonnie and Chica were quick to join him. Foxy sniffed at the plastic, then poked the box with his hook. Nothing happened.

"Hey, hands off!" Roni returned to the dining hall, the tablet in her hands. All three animatronics backed off as she opened the bag, pulling out a slim laptop and a mess of cords. "Y'all are far too nosy for your own good." She scolded playfully, sorting out several cords before opening the silver box. Inside was a black box with a round lens on the side, and buttons on the top. She hooked it up to the laptop as the three animatronics looked on curiously.

The human booted up the computer. As the Windows logo blew in a non-existent breeze, the lens on the side of the black box flickered to life, displaying the same image on the large back wall. As the computer loaded, Roni moved a few of the children's drawings that were in the way, placing them gently to the side so she could put them up after her surprise.

Foxy was puzzled. Not about the projector – any lily-livered sponge could see what it was from a mile away. No, he was puzzled over WHY the human had brought it. There was no cause for any projection during the night. In fact, why was she out of the office? The guards never strayed from the office. Then again, all the other guards had been endos...

As if reading his thoughts, Roni held up a thin, rectangular case with a picture of a frog in a pirate hat on it for all three of them to see. "I spoke with Mr. Fazbear this morning," she explained, "And told him how much you liked the music. I asked if I could show you a movie tonight, and he said yes!" She paused and tapped her chin with the corner of the mysterious frog-box. "He seemed really surprised about it, actually. Muttered something about British coffee and poor ventilation." The almost twenty-year-old shrugged it off as 'old man brain' and continued. "I picked a movie I thought all of you would like: Muppet Treasure Island!"

Foxy opened his mouth to ask what in the bloody seven seas a 'Muppet' was, but stopped himself. They weren't supposed to talk to humans (other than their creator, Mr. Fazbear, and whatever engineers or mechanics he deemed worthy) outside of their pre-recorded messages from nearly forty years past. He shut his jaw and leaned forward to examine the case. The frog was wearing a fancy hat and standing next to a bear in a powdered wig, a weird blue thing, and a little human boy.

"It's one of my favorite movies." Roni cracked open the case and pulled out a thin silver disc. The three animatronics, who hailed from the days of film reels and VCR's, watched carefully as she popped it in the laptop and fiddled with several keys. "It's based on the book Treasure Island. There's pirates and singing and puppets and Tim Curry! Trust me," she grinned as a sunset appeared on the wall, heralded by trumpets and the words 'Walt Disney Presents,' "You guys are going to love it."

* * *

A short time later, all three animatronics had to agree. They adored the puppets, bobbed along with the songs, and beamed at the bad jokes. They'd carried three large, reinforced chairs meant just for them, left over from when they were able to walk around and interact with the kids, over to face the wall. Roni sat on the floor, leaning against Bonnie's legs. A new song soon began, a saucy rumba accompanied by the sailors singing about cabin fever. Beside Bonnie, Foxy began bobbing, clapping his hook and hand together. He'd gotten more into the movie than the other two, and personally, the night guard found it oddly adorable.

As the song drew to an end, Roni glanced up at hearing Foxy's pre-recorded laugh. She frowned as the animatronics maw flapped wildly. The woman scrambled to her feet – startling the others – and peered at his jaw. "Jeez, Foxy, what happened?" She asked, reaching out to touch the fur-covered metal. The pirate froze at the touch, temporarily distracted from the back-stabbing scheming happening on screen. She poked at the joint that connected his jaw to his face, frowning. "That looks like a missing screw." Absently, she pet his muzzle as she looked at it. Foxy's ears lowered and his eye closed in pleasure; had he been a cat, he would have purred. "I bet I can fix that! Mr. Fazbear told me the parts and services room has tools and stuff for you guys." She stepped away, much to the fox's displeasure, and made a 'stay here' motion. "You guys keep watching the movie, I'll be right back!"

* * *

Freddy was furious.

No, he was beyond furious.

He was raging.

The bear animatronic stormed around the parts and services room, setting it to rights. The engineers Fazbear had were practically slobs, and normally Freddy found the routine of cleaning the room soothing. Tonight, however, he was seething.

How _dare _Foxy disobey him? How _dare _he allow himself to be swayed as Chica and Bonnie had? When the band leader had seen the fox follow the endo into the kitchen, and then hear the endo scream, he was certain it was done. But no, the fox had emerged minutes later to fetch Bonnie and a mop, and the sounds of laughter and excited chatter had flowed from the kitchen for the rest of the night. The bear had moved to clean up the parts and services room, trying to puzzle through the odd endo's powers while straightening the costume heads. He would not attack tonight – it was nearly five, and there would not be enough time to properly wire the new endo into a suit tonight. No, he would wait until the next night, and as soon as the endo was in the security room alone, Freddy would ignore the rules of their game and attack.

That plan had fallen apart when, instead of spending the night in the security office, the endo emerged with the tablet and put on a movie for them to watch. It had called out to him, inviting him to join them, but he had ignored it and went to clean the room as he always did. He could hear Foxy's laughter and the endo's singing through the wooden door, but ignored it in favor of carefully selecting the suit he would put the endo in. He finally decide on a Bonnie suit, which he found fitting since Bonnie was the first one the endo had corrupted. Humming his signature tune, he set the suit up on the work table, carefully picking off lint and aligning the head and limbs just so.

He _would _catch this endo.

He _would _put it into a costume.

He _would _make sure it never broke the rules again.

Because when any of the animatronics broke the rules, bad things happened.

And he _would _make sure his family was safe from whatever bad things this endo brought down on their heads.

* * *

Roni hadn't been in the backstage area yet. Fazbear had pointed it out during the whirlwind tour he'd offered, but they'd passed it to go look at the kitchen. She climbed up on the stage, which was only three feet tall so the kids could see the entertainers, and crossed to the door hidden in the left wing. It had a laminated sign reading 'Backstage – Employees Only' taped up, though one side was falling down. The guard pressed a finger over the nearly-dry tape and nodded in satisfaction when the sign stayed in place. She then popped open the door and bounced in.

It was _dark_. Roni wrinkled her nose and looked around the dim room for a light switch, only to remember that the main power was shut off during the night. "This isn't your average darkness," she remarked to the room, "It's _advanced darkness_." Snickering at her joke (stolen from an old Spongebob episode) she pulled out her cellphone and used it as a flashlight. There were costume parts stacked neatly on shelves, and an old Bonnie outfit laid out on a metal work table. On the shelf nearest the work table was a set of little plastic drawers all stacked one atop the other. Each was labeled with an animatronics name, then a part. Shuffling across the room to avoid tripping on anything, Roni used her cellphone to light up the labels. She skipped past the rows of Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica, and frowned when she didn't see one with a stick note saying Foxy.

The guard shifted some of the cardboard boxes beside the stacked plastic ones, squinting to read the black marker on the sides. She was just about to give up and try one of Bonnie's screws when a box on the top shelf caught her attention. The words 'FOXY – MISC.' was written in neat black marker on the side, still clearly visible under a layer of dust. Roni made a small 'aha' noise and, standing on her tip toes, reached for the box.

A hand – large, brown, made of thick joints and rounded pieces – snapped around her wrist, stopping her movement. The sausage-like fingers easily encased half the limb, from her wrist to mid-forearm. She tried to jerk back in surprise, but the hand and all that was attached to it held her firmly in place. Her phone fell from her other hand, hitting the concrete floor and bouncing under the worktable, leaving the room pitch black.

Well, not all of the room.

Roni could still make out the bright blue eyes of the animatronic clutching her wrist.

* * *

**AN: **Thanks for the reviews guys! Every single one is appreciated! I ended up splitting this chapter in two - it was getting too long and unwieldy. Let me know what you think, please please please! I love reviews! :D


	6. Chapter 5: Mr Jonathan Fazbear II

**Universal Language**

**Chapter 5: Mr. Jonathan Fazbear II**

"Hi, Freddy!"

The mascot of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria scowled as the endo cheerfully greeted him, a bright smile on it's face. It was smaller than the broken endoskeleton in the corner of the backstage area, but he chalked that up to it being a newer, more efficient model. He narrowed his eyes, the light blue fading into dark gray, pupils shrinking to white dots deep in his head. The endo didn't notice – it was looking around for it's dropped device. When it couldn't find it, it looked back up and jolted a bit at the sight of his eyes.

"Er, Freddy? You're kinda hurting my wrist." The endo wiggled it's hand. He was holding it up, so that it's feet barely brushed the floor. When he didn't immediately respond, the endo scowled. "Oie, Earth to bear! Let me go!" It yanked its arm, nearly losing what little footing it had.

Freddy scowled at the sheer audacity of the endo. First it had barged back here as though it had every right in the world to enter, then it had gone through their stuff! Now it was demanding he release it? That was as likely as him allowing Foxy to try playing Patty-Cake again. He'd finally gotten his hands on the rogue endo that was endangering them all. It would not be leaving without a suit.

He turned without warning and tugged the endo towards the work table, where the Bonnie suit was neatly laid out, waiting only for an endoskeleton to complete it. The endo yelped as he jerked it along, trying to pull back and stop him. He was too strong, though – much stronger than this wimpy frame. He wondered if it'd be strong enough to even hold the heavy costume head up. Well, there was only one way to find out.

A sudden, loud 'clang!' and a pain on his shoulder brought the bear out of his musings. He turned back to the endo, baring his teeth as he growled, eyes lighting up threateningly. The endo was holding a long, heavy metal flashlight, which it had used to smack his shoulder. It frantically used it's one free hand to try and turn it on, blinding him when the bulb lit. He snarled, smacking it out of the endo's grip. The endo yelled, recoiling in what appeared to be pain.

* * *

Well, this wasn't going how she'd expected it to.

Roni had realized, after seeing Freddy either not leave the stage or spend the night in the backroom, that he was not an overly social robot. She'd been too distracted by the other three for the past few nights to find time to introduce herself. Apparently, he didn't appreciate that.

The guard cradled her stinging hand to her chest, grimacing in pain. Fazbear had never said anything about the robots being _dangerous_. Bonnie was a curious but nice bunny, Chica was an absolute sweetheart, and Foxy was obviously excitable but didn't seem to be bothered by Roni's prodding and questions (though he had only answered one – his name – she had spent the previous night asking him about himself and the restaurant while they cleaned up).

Freddy, however, was giving off an aura of power, superiority, danger, and – most alarmingly – rage. He was leering down at her, apparently seething at being smacked by her flashlight (which she had – embarrassingly – completely forgotten about when she first entered the backroom). It was now lying in a corner, lighting up the room and casting shadows against the walls. His eyes, still that odd, flat gray with white pupils, were flickering from some kind of back lighting, as was his mouth. The girl was reminded once again of how _short _she was around these robots as he leaned over her, forcing her to crane her neck back to look up at him properly. She shook off the pain in her free hand and scrambled to grab her baton from her belt, not moving her eyes from his.

"CAPTAIN!"

"RONI!"

"DON'T YOU TOUCH HER!"

The door to the backroom was thrown off it's hinges as three panicking animatronics threw it open. Foxy led the charge, hook gleaming in the light from the bright flashlight. Chica was right behind him, shoving past Bonnie to get into the room and assess the situation. The rabbit stopped in the doorway, ears brushing the top of the frame as he pinned the bear with a truly fearsome glare.

Said bear was glaring right back at all three of them. Roni was trying to get her head around the idea that these three had apparently just _spoken_ without using pre-recorded audio. She had to admit, their voices were much nicer without all the static-y glitching.

Freddy hunched his shoulders, making himself appear larger as he temporarily turned his rage on the others. His voice came out as a low hiss that made ice crawl along Roni's spine.

"Just _what _do you think you're _doing_?" He demanded.

Chica and Bonnie were obviously a bit cowed by the voice – the bunny stayed near the door, looking torn between grabbing Roni or staying put. Chica took one step back, rocking hesitantly on her feet, struggling with the same choices as Bonnie. Foxy, however, took a large stride forward, unafraid of the bear (who was actually _shorter _than him).

"Let the lass go, Fredbear." He demanded, hook pointing to her. "I ain't be askin' ye twice."

Well that made sense: the pirate fox spoke like a pirate. Had she not been seriously fearing for her safety, Roni would have laughed and asked if he also went 'ring-ding-ding'. For now, however, she focused on getting her baton out of her belt. The strap that went over the top of the handle to keep it from falling out was stuck, and being one-handed wasn't helping.

Freddy, meanwhile, raised an elegant felt (or were they painted?) eyebrow and gazed haughtily at Foxy. "I don't believe this is any of your business, Foxy. Go back to your singing puppets."

"Freddy, please!" It was Bonnie this time – his voice was light and lilting, a musical quality to it under the nervous wavering. "Remember what I said yesterday? You're _not _a murderer!"

_That _got Roni's attention. She jerked her head around, looking between Bonnie and Freddy as she squeaked out 'murder?' in a barely audible voice.

"She's human, Freddy. I don't know why you can't see it but you have to trust us. She's not an endoskeleton." Chica piped up, holding her hands up in a calm gesture as she stepped up beside Foxy. Her voice was higher than Bonnie's, gentle and motherly. "Please, you have to _trust us_."

Freddy snorted – a surprisingly animal-like sound – and turned back towards the table. "It's corrupted all of your data banks. As soon as I have it suited up, you'll see." He yanked Roni towards the work table, and several things happened at once.

Roni lost her footing and fell, Freddy's grip being the only thing keeping her face from kissing the floor. Foxy lunged forward, digging his hook into Freddy's back, just below the bears head. He yanked the bear, who snarled in annoyance and a bit of pain, back from the table. Freddy, startled by Foxy's bold move, reared back to try and dislodge the hook, clenching his fists in frustration.

The crack that shot through the room was not the loudest sound Roni had ever heard, but that didn't matter as it was reverberating in her ears like a gunshot. She had managed to scramble to her knees before Freddy tightened his grip, and now she sat staring dumbly at her hand, still clutched in the bears grip.

It was pointing the wrong way.

A pair of yellow hands, accompanied by an angry screech, pried Freddy's hand from her arm. Bonnie and Foxy had both grabbed Freddy now, keeping him as still as possible as Chica freed the night guard. As soon as the brown hand had been yanked away, all three sane animatronics winced.

Roni's wrist was bent at an unsettling angle and was already turning a sickly shade of red and purple. They could see a piece of bone pressing against the skin, obviously out of place. The guard turned an alarming shade of white as all the blood in her head rushed to her toes.

The next few minutes became a blur. She could feel someone helping her up and leading her out of the backroom, off the stage, and into a chair. There were several voices, but they couldn't seem to penetrate the foggy cloud that had absorbed her brain.

* * *

The second Chica heard the snap, she knew something bad had happened to Roni. Unlike the boys, who focused more on entertaining, she had taken the time to learn some basic first aid when they were still allowed to walk around interact with the kids. They'd never had a broken bone before, though there were plenty of kids with casts who came to visit. As Foxy and Bonnie grabbed their glitching boss, Chica moved to crouch beside Roni and pry off his steel grip.

Luckily, they were all built of steel, and it didn't take much to pull his hand away. The guard was silent, staring in what appeared to be shock at her obviously broken wrist. Chica winced as the human went as pale as paper and began to sway in her spot. She steadied her with gentle hands before looking up at the others with a worried frown.

"Take 'er out ta the mess hall," Foxy instructed, having gotten Freddy in a headlock. The bear wasn't fighting against the hold, but still growled when Chica met his gray eyes. "Bonnie, go with 'er and call Fazbear. You know how ta work the phone in the office better than any o' us."

The band mates nodded and, with one on each side, helped Roni to her feet and led her from the room. Bonnie fit the broken door inside the frame, at an angle so it stuck, before running ahead to grab a chair for Roni. As soon as Chica had carefully led her down the stage steps and had her settled, he raced off to the office to call their creator and explain what had happened.

Once she was certain the poor girl wouldn't keel over, Chica carried one of the reinforced chairs to her side and settled in. Roni was staring at her wrist, face still pale, sweat beading along her forehead. Her breathing, which had been rather rapid before, had begun to slow. After a moments debate, the chicken put her arm along the back of the guard's chair and ran a hand over her hair.

Had her legs not been made of rubber, Roni would have leapt from the chair in fright. Instead, she stiffened and carefully slid her gaze to the left. Upon identifying Chica (who looked rather startled at her reaction) she relaxed a bit. Until her wrist shifted and she felt the broken bones rub against each other. She swore under her breath and clutched her wrist to her chest, trying not to go 'fuzzy' again.

"So," she began after taking a deep breath, "you guys can talk?"

Chica laughed softly and resumed stroking the humans head. Roni stiffened for a moment, then relaxed under the gentle touch. "Yes, we can speak. Jonathan – Mr. Fazbear, your boss – he says we're 'sentient.' It has something to do with recognizing we're alive, or knowing we can think." She shrugged a bit – she was smart, all of them were, but that didn't mean she understood what exactly he'd been talking about.

"Why didn't you say anything when we first met?"

"Johnathan told us not to speak to anybody unless we have his permission. He's worried that if people found out that we can think and learn like you humans do, we'd be taken away and torn apart."

"That makes sense. Humans fear the unknown." Roni nodded sagely. They sat in comfortable silence for a minute, neither knowing what to say next.

Footsteps approached from the east hall, and Bonnie appeared with a bottle of water, a blanket, and a bag of chocolate candies piled in his arms. He hurried over to them, his brow furrowed in worry. That baffled Roni - how could these large, felt and metal heads convey so much emotion?

"Dad's on his way," the bunny reported to Chica, setting the stuff down on the stage beside them. "I told him what happened, and he said that Roni might be going into shock, and to give her water and keep her warm." His paws fumbled over the soft fabric of the blanket, finally finding an edge. He snapped it open and turned to the guard, gently laying it over her, still talking a mile a minute. "Dad also said not to let Freddy out of the back room, but that Foxy can't hurt him, and that he'll have someone fix the broken door tomorrow, and he's getting here as quick as he can to take Roni to the emergency room, and that she'll be okay as long as we stay calm, and there's chocolate here if she needs it because sugar helps with shock and does she look paler to you?"

Roni and Chica shared a raised brow as the anxious bunny rambled, twisting open the water and pulling open the bag of candies, breaking the plastic and sending the little Hershey kisses all over the floor. Much to both animatronics surprise, and worry, Roni began to giggle, burying her face in the blanket to hide her smile.

"I'm sorry," the guard apologized a moment later when she looked up and found the two looking at her, "It's just, Bonnie, that was the _worst _example of staying calm I've ever seen!"

The rabbit smiled as he got down on his knees and began scooping up the candies, piling them on the stage. "It's okay, Roni. I'm just glad you're alright." He frowned, growing serious, and rested a large purple hand on her knee. "I'm so sorry Freddy hurt you."

A sound from the front of the restaurant crushed the touchy-feely moment before it could begin. Mr. Fazbear had arrived. He entered through the front and fumbled with the light switches beside the check-in counter. The florescent in the dining room buzzed to life, overtaking the softer reserve lighting they had been conversing in. As soon as he spotted them, the man hurried over.

"Miss Byrd," he greeted as he reached them, mustache bristling above his lip. His eyes were heavy lidded and lined with sleep – obviously Bonnie had woken the poor man up. Said rabbit had yet to move, keeping a hand on Roni as though afraid she would float away. Chica was still in her seat, arm around the girls shoulders. With a huff, the mechanic-turned-restaurant-owner rolled his eyes at the over-protective bots. "Really, it's like you two found a puppy."

Bonnie gave her a considering look. "No, I don't think she's as cute as a puppy."

"Bon!" Chica cried, scandalized, and smacked him on the forehead.

Fazbear stopped them both with a stern look before the siblings could turn it into a physical scuffle. "I'll ask for an accounting of tonight's _adventure_ later, you three. For now let's get you," he pointed to the night guard, "to the hospital." He was frowning, taking in her pale cheeks and barely-noticeable trembling. Chica moved her arm and carefully pulled off the soft blanket Bonnie had haphazardly thrown over her. The owner winced when he saw the awkwardly angled and rapidly swelling red and purple wrist. "This may take longer than I thought," he muttered. "Chica, Bonnie, I want you both to clean up the dining hall and put Miss Byrd's things in the office." Taking a firm grip on Roni's upper arm, he helped her stand and lead her towards the doors.

"And tell Foxy he's not allowed to kill Freddy. Yet."

* * *

**AN: **Well, Fazbear's not happy. This chapter just did not want to be written, I struggled with some parts. Any notes/reviews/smiles are appreciated! I love that y'all love this story!


	7. Chapter 6: Freddy?

**Universal Language**

**Chapter 6: ...Freddy?**

Fazbear wasn't back from the hospital until nearly five that same morning. He walked straight to his office, past the three animatronics sitting on the edge of the stage. A few minutes later, they heard the old printer in the managers office whir to life and start spitting out papers. Fazbear quickly reemerged, several pages of paper clutched in his fist.

"Dad?" Bonnie had gotten off the stage and was standing near the office door, wringing his hands. Fazbear almost groaned when he heard the nickname. A few days after he had been created, Bonnie had heard a child use the word 'dad.' His AI processor had been having trouble keeping up with all the new information, and had stuttered when trying to pull up the meaning of the word 'dad.' He'd knelt down and asked the boy what the word meant. The boy, after squealing and giving Bonnie a hug, had said that his dad was the one who took care of him and loved him and taught him. As soon as Bonnie had stood up, he'd spotted Fazbear across the room and waved at him, yelling 'Hi Dad!' much to the amusement of the patrons. The name had stuck for the bunny, luckily none of the others had picked up on it.

Fazbear pulled himself from his past musings to grace the bunny with a gentle smile. "Roni will be fine, Bon." He patted the bunny on the shoulder. Bonnie let out a simulated sigh of relief. "She'll be back in a few days."

"The lass still wants to be workin' here?" Foxy and Chica had left the stage, joining Bonnie.

The man laughed at the question. "I doubt wild horses could keep her away!" He chuckled. "As soon as I suggested quitting, she spit nails. She insisted that she had to stay and get to know her new friends."

"Friends?" Chica clasped her hands together in front of her, beaming at the idea.

"Yes, friends. She swore to keep your intelligence a secret."

"She be a fine lass!" Foxy chortled.

The three began to plan a welcome back party for the night guard, arguing over cake flavors and what Roni's favorite color was. Fazbear rolled his eyes at their antics and left them to it, heading for the stage. He had one more animatronic to talk to.

Some would think that being given advanced AI would also instill in the animatronics a strict, un-bendable moral code. Those people obviously did not know the Fazbear gang. As soon as the door was wedged back into place by Fazbear, they were across the room and quietly padding across the stage to eavesdrop on the tongue lashing they had no doubt was about to be delivered.

* * *

Freddy had definitely had better days.

He was sitting on the work table, the Bonnie suit shoved to the floor, nursing his wounds. Foxy had torn his suit in several places along his arms and back, as well as one nice, rough cut along his right leg. His joints were aching from being thrown to the floor repeatedly, and there was a ringing in his audio sensors from being smacked in the face with the Bonnie costume head.

The bear didn't notice Fazbear entering the room until he flipped on the overhead light. He looked up slowly, wincing as the joints in his neck rubbed together. The look on his creators face had him wishing Foxy had returned to beat him up some more. Fazbear wedged the door back into place and turned to glare at his oldest animatronic.

"Freddy."

The ice in Fazbear's voice could've solved global warming. Freddy hunched his shoulders up around his cheeks (his ears being too far to reach) and watched as his creator shook his head.

"Why?" When he didn't receive an answer, he continued. "The others told me what happened. Why didn't you listen to them? Chica told you Roni was human, but you ignored her. Why?"

Freddy looked away, pulling his hat off his head and sliding the brim between his fingers, eyes focused on the black silk instead of his creators disappointed face.

"It – I mean, _she_ looks like an endoskeleton. No matter how I looked at her, it – _she _was an endo skeleton." He bent the rim back and forth between his thick fingers. "I tried, after Bonnie said it was a human. I watched her in the office when she couldn't see me." He shook his head. "Every time I looked, I only saw an endo. Just like that one," he pointed to the defunct endo slumped in the corner of the room, "Only smaller."

"That is a concern," Fazbear agreed, "but that is not the biggest issue right now. I want to know why you ignored the others."

"I was _protecting _them!" He snarled, finally meeting the mans eyes. "Every time something has gone wrong here, it's been because someone broke the rules!" He stood, his entire frame thrumming with tension. "The murders happened because _he_," he pointed to the corner and the endoskeleton once more, "wasn't in his uniform, so that man could use it! The Bite of '87 happened because _Mangle _wasn't fixed right and her suit was destroyed!" Freddy crushed the silk hat between his large paws.

Fazbear shook his head. "No. The murders happened because a madman slipped into our haven. The Bite happened because Mangle identified the man as a murderer, but her systems glitched and she bit him. The endoskeletons being visible in both cases was just a coincidence." He sighed, taking the hat from the bears hand and reshaping it, frowning at the wrinkles.

"Roni is just a kid, Freddy. She wasn't even _alive _when the murders happened, or the Bite. You have absolutely _no reason _to attack her." He put the hat on the work table, then grabbed the papers he had brought in with him, face turning thunderous. Holding up a black-and-white picture, he pointed to two long white lines, both of which fractured into seven pieces towards one end. "Roni is going to require surgery in order to fix her wrist, which _you _broke."

The animatronic winced at the sight of the shattered bones, oil tank churning. He slowly sat back down on the work table, staring at the picture. Fazbear allowed him his time to think, arms crossed over his chest.

"Is she coming back?"

Fazbear winced at the question. "She said wants to continue working here, on one condition."

"Which is...?"

"You have to stay away from her."

* * *

Roni found the restaurant in complete darkness when she arrived at five to midnight on Sunday. Frowning, she used her keys to open the front doors, locking them after her. The dining hall was nearly pitch black. She frowned and grabbed her flashlight (which Fazbear had retrieved for her), using it to navigate through the tables to the east hallway and her office. A balloon was tied to the back of the twirly chair, and on top of the tablet was a folded piece of paper. Grinning, she put her stuff down and threw herself in her chair, which twirled around a few times before stopping. The girl giggled, before grabbing the paper. There was black, blocky printing on it reading:

**WELCOME BACK RONI**

**COME TO THE DINING HALL**

**WE HAVE A SURPRISE FOR YOU!**

She found herself suitably impressed by the animatronics intelligence once again – she'd never even considered that they'd be able to write. She folded the note and glanced at the watch, which felt odd and bulky on her right wrist. Her left wrist – her whole forearm, in fact – was covered with a thick lime-green cast. Just as she focused on the blinking face, the chiming of the midnight alarm echoed through the quiet building.

Roni wondered why the lights were still out, but shrugged to herself and used the flashlight to navigate her way back to the dining hall. There was no sound, and if she were being honest it was beginning to creep her out.

Just as she stepped into the main room, the lights flared, revealing a beaming trio standing by one of the tables. Chica and Bonnie were holding a sign that said 'Welcome Back Roni!' in swirly purple letters. Foxy stood between the two, arms thrown around their shoulders as he beamed at her. As she entered, all three yelled "Welcome back, Roni!" at the top of their voice boxes.

As soon as they had finished their chant, Chica dropped her side of the sign and rushed forward, catching Roni in a tight hug. "Oh Roni we've been so worried about you!"

She laughed and hugged the chicken back. As soon as Chica released her, Bonnie wrapped a gentle arm around her shoulder and pressed his nose against her head.

"We're happy ye be back, lass." Foxy greeted as Bonnie pulled her towards the table. There was a piping hot pizza on the table, beside a chocolate-iced cake decorated with her name, as well as a ton of sprinkles.

"Aw, you guys!" Roni beamed at the three as she was ushered into a seat that had a big bunch of balloons tied to it. "Thank you so much!"

Chica hummed as she sliced the pizza and cut the cake, plating a piece of both and putting it in front of the guard. The three all took seats around her as she began to eat, nibbling on the cheese pizza. They asked about her cast, and Roni explained about her surgery and the three pins holding her bones together. She also pulled a Sharpie from her pocket and had them all sign it. It turned out that the blocky hand writing from the note was Foxy's, the writing on the sign was by Bonnie, and the icing calligraphy on the cake was by Chica. That led to her asking about their construction and how they functioned. The night dissolved into comparisons between the animatronics and the human bodies, which led to stories about the animatronics history in the restaurant.

Roni hummed happily as the night wound down, completely ignorant of the melancholy blue eyes watching them from the shadows of the stage.

* * *

A month passed, thirty nights speeding by as spring turned into summer. The shifts fell into a pattern. Every Friday was movie night, and on Wednesday mornings Roni stayed for breakfast. When the animatronics weren't busy they hung out with her in the office or dining hall. Chica would occasionally drag her into the kitchen to try new cake flavors, and other nights Foxy would pull her into his cove and tell her stories of his sea adventures. Bonnie, if he wasn't practicing guitar, would follow her around, chatting about nothing of consequence. The nights became a time of companionship and conversation for them all.

All except one.

Freddy respected Roni's wishes and stayed away from her. When she was in the security office he would venture out onto the stage or into the kitchen, spending time with his friends. They had forgiven him after eavesdropping on his conversation with Fazbear, understanding that he had only been trying to protect them. They were still upset with him harming Roni, but as long as nobody mentioned it everything remained calm between them. When Roni was in the dining hall, he would retreat to the backstage room, straightening it up and ignoring the empty Bonnie suit he'd nearly used to kill Roni. The very idea still sent shivers down his spinal rod.

Roni, however, was sure that the bear was stalking her. Over the past month she'd been seeing shapes in the shadows, as well as odd lights that looked very much like eyes. These shadows appeared in the corner of her vision, disappearing as soon as she focused on them. At first she thought it was a fluke, a bit of fear from that night left over. Then she began to see the shadows on the tablet, lurking about in every room. As the month progressed, she became more and more annoyed with the bear. She thought he'd be smart enough to stay away from her like she'd asked, but he obviously thought that her not being able to see him negated that rule.

Fazbear had explained the vision malfunction Freddy had suffered, causing him to see her as an endoskeleton instead of a human. He'd cleared it up with the bear, but that did nothing to remove Roni's fear. She froze up whenever she saw him on camera, and winced when she heard his laughter echoing through the halls.

She didn't mention the shadows to the other animatronics; they got along with Freddy fine, and while she didn't like the bear she wasn't about to stir up more problems between them. She did her best to ignore the shadows, until one night it finally became too much.

* * *

It was a busy night; an elementary school had arranged a field trip for all their students to the pizzeria that day. Thankfully they had staggered the trip by grades; Kindergarten and first grade for two hours, then second and third, and lastly fourth and fifth. Still, the sheer number of pizzas they would need had Chica recruiting Bonnie and Foxy to help in the kitchen. Roni had gone to offer her help, only to see that there was barely any room for her among the large animatronics. She'd wished them luck and returned to the office, checking in through the camera's audio feed every once in a while.

An hour passed, and after listening to Chica lambaste Foxy for getting his hook stuck in the counter, Roni turned the tablet off and propped her feet up on the desk. Without any of the three around, it was quiet. She rolled her neck around, eyes tracing the posters and crayon drawings on the walls. They traveled over to the left doorway, which revealed nothing, then to the right.

A hulking shadow lingered in the doorway, taking up the entire space and leering at her. Bright white pinpricks shone from its head, hovering over sharp white fangs. A tophat was perched crookedly on the shadowy head, fenced in by a pair of small, round ears. Roni sat ramrod straight in the chair, eyes wide as saucers. The shadow bared it's fangs, head twitching erratically on it's shoulders as it took a step inside the office.

She was _not _going through this again. Roni lunged out of the chair, screaming at the top of her lungs. There was some PG swearing down the hall, as well as the sound of metal dropping. The shadow vanished, leaving Roni seething in the middle of the empty office. The guard grabbed the heavy flashlight off the desk and stormed down the east hall. Bonnie and Foxy had escaped the kitchen and hurried down the hall towards her, twin expressions of worry on their faces. She brushed past them, stomping towards the dining hall. Chica poked her head out of the kitchen doors and watched as the girl passed, Bonnie and Foxy trailing after her with confused and concerned faces.

Freddy looked equally confused when the girl stormed into the room. Before he could duck backstage, she had pinned him with a fearsome glare, and he found himself frozen in place. The guard stomped right up to the stage and pointed her flashlight (which was turned off) up at him.

"You!" Roni snarled, the anger in her voice startling all four of the animatronics. They'd heard her happy, scared, and excited, but _never _angry. "Stay the hell away from me! I don't _want _an apology! I don't _want _to talk to you! I _want_ you to stay far, far away from me!"

Freddy took an involuntary step back, completely surprised by the sudden onslaught of anger coming his way. Bonnie moved to grab Roni and take her back to the office, but Foxy grabbed his arm and shook his head, stopping him.

"I don't care that you feel bad about what you did!" Roni waved her left arm at him, showing off the bright green cast. "I'm going to be stuck in this stupid, itchy thing for five more weeks! Do you have any idea how much it hurt to have my wrist crushed?"

Roni took several deep breaths, allowing silence to settle over the stunned animatronics.

"Cut the creepy shadow act, and leave me alone." She turned on her heel and stormed past the animatronics, down the east hall to her twirly chair and tablet. Freddy waited until she was out of sight to climb off the stage and approach the other three.

"I don't remember ya' being anywhere near the lass, matey." Foxy eyed the bear, who was staring down the hall in worry.

"I haven't been near her." Freddy was rubbing his chin, eyes showing worry.

Chica rested a hand on his arm. "Then what is she talking about?"

"She said 'creepy shadow' at the end there, didn't she?" Bonnie asked, tugging on one of his drooping ears, a nervous habit of his. "You don't think...you don't think it's..."

"No." Freddy said firmly, crossing his arms. "It can't be him."

"Mate, I know ye don't want it ta be, but if it is-"

"It _can't _be." Freddy insisted. "He's been gone for _years_. He can't be...he can't be back."

Foxy sighed, standing in front of his friend and grabbing his shoulders. "Freddy, listen to me. If it's _him _then we need to be ready. He'll go after Roni. You know he will."

Freddy reached up, laying his hands over Foxy's, gripping them tightly in place. He was trembling.

"I know." He huffed a breath through his vents. "We have to protect Roni."

Chica and Bonnie joined in, hugging Freddy between them. "We'll protect her," Bonnie swore.

After a moment, Freddy took a step back, nodding seriously to his friends. "One of us stays with Roni at all times during the night. She is never to be alone here."

The four nodded, and three of them headed to the office to comfort their annoyed guard. The fourth returned to the stage, to watch over the building from afar.

* * *

**AN: One more chapter to go!** Thanks so much to those of you who reviewed, it means a lot to me.

Also, I have never broken a bone (so far. Honestly it's a miracle I've lasted to age 25 without breaking _something_) so I apologize for any inconsistencies with Ronnie's broken wrist. It was a comminuted fracture, which is a break with more than two parts.

Now that the semester is over I'll have more time to write. I should have the finale up by next weekend at the latest!

I hope you enjoyed! Review if you did, and lemme know if you'd be interested in seeing Roni meet the Toys. :D I'm not sure they could handle her spitfire-ness.


	8. Chapter 7: Golden Freddy

**Universal Language**

**Chapter 7: Golden Freddy**

"There were six birthday parties today. Six!"

"We know Bonnie."

"How do they expect us to run that long without overheating?"

"We know Bonnie."

"At least when we had a free roam mode we could go into that big freezer and cool off. Now we're stuck on the stage, under those hot lights, without a break!"

"Does he ever stop complaining?"

The lavender rabbit did his best to ignore Chica, who was snickering at Roni's comment. He had his arms crossed and was pouting, leaning against the desk. Roni had lost her chair to Chica, who was spinning in a slow circle, a smirk crossing her beak every time Bonnie came into her line of sight. The guard and Foxy were both sitting on the floor, against the wall opposite the desk. Roni was inspecting the joints that made up Foxy's non-hook hand, examining the delicate wiring that had been revealed by the wear and tear that had removed most of his suits paw.

After a few minutes, Roni realized the room had become silent and she looked up. Chica had stopped spinning and had her head tilted back, eyes offline. Bonnie had his cheek snuggled on his shoulder and was snoring lightly, nose twitching. Beside her Foxy was also out cold, head propped up on his hook.

The guard giggled quietly to herself, though when Chica let out an almighty snoring noise, it turned into full blown laughter. The three animatronics immediately jerked awake, straightening up and looking around as their systems snapped back into action. They looked at the guard, who was lying on her side, snorting with laughter.

"What did we miss?" Bonnie asked, rubbing at his drooping eyes.

"C-C-Chica s-snores!" Roni rolled over onto her back, grinning up at the three as they gathered around, peering down at her.

"I do not!" The chicken countered, hands on her hips.

"Yes you do!" Roni didn't bother getting up, fine where she was. "I thought a tug boat had wandered in, it sounded like a foghorn!"

Bonnie and Foxy snickered, while Chica just pouted, crossing her arms and looking away.

"Why did you guys fall asleep, anyway? I mean, I didn't even know you could sleep! If that's what it was. Is that how you guys recharge?"

"Aye, lass." Foxy reached down when she raised her hands and pulled her to her feet. "Normally we be gettin' plenty o' rest once the store shuts down 'round nine, 'til we wake at midnight. Well, they do at least. I don't have the same time restriction coding." He rapped his fist against his forehead, winking at her.

Bonnie yawned, ears drooping. "I suppose today got to us. Well, to Chica 'n' me. I dunno what Foxy has to be tired about."

"Hey, I be very busy when ye landlubbers are tootin' yer horns!" Foxy snapped, jabbing at the rabbit with his hook. "I be on the look out for g-g-er, scoundrels."

To Roni's surprise, Bonnie didn't offer a witty retort to that answer. Instead he rubbed at his nose, looking uncomfortable. She brushed it off and grabbed Bonnie's hands.

"Alright, you three are going back to bed." She tugged at him until he followed her out of the office and down the hall. Foxy and Chica trailed along behind them, the latter still grumbling that she didn't snore. Roni led the way to the dining room. Freddy was, as usual, standing on the stage, but she ignored him. "You two," she pointed at Bonnie and Chica, "Go find somewhere quiet to sleep."

To her surprise, the two hesitated, glancing over at Freddy, who was watching the four with a raised brow. Roni (who'd been feeling a tiny bit more confident around the bear since she'd yelled at him a week prior without backlash) felt her stomach drop, but ignored it.

The bear rolled his bright blue eyes and made a shooing motion towards the two. "Get some rest," he hollered across the room, "Like I _told _you to an hour ago!"

"See, your boss agrees. Go to bed. I don't want to see you until at _least _five o'clock."

Foxy chuckled as the two sighed but left, Bonnie heading to his favorite closet and Chica to the kitchen. He turned to smile at Roni, figuring they'd get some one-on-one time tonight, but was surprised to find her scowling at him, hands on her hips.

"Wha – lass, I'm not takin' a nap!"

"Oh yes you are," she scolded, pushing him towards his cove. "I don't know what this secret mission of yours is, but it's obviously worn you out." She gave him another shove. "Go to sleep. Same rules as the others – I don't want to see you awake until after five!"

Foxy glanced at Freddy. The bear was wearing a large smirk, and he wiggled his fingers at Foxy, mouthing 'good night.' The vulpine huffed but nodded to Roni, bid her farewell, and left for his cove.

"Stubborn as toddlers," Roni sighed with a shake of her head. She glanced at Freddy, who was inspecting his microphone, and with a shrug wandered back to her office.

Had the guard been closer, she would have seen Freddy trembling with repressed laughter, a wide grin pulling at his jaw as mirth sparkled in his eyes.

* * *

Roni took a quick detour to the kitchen on her way, and shut off the ovens Chica had been preheating. The chicken had begun making a pizza, only to fall asleep standing beside the prep counter. She got herself a cup of orange soda and quietly left the exhausted bird to her sleep. Freddy was gone, and she assumed he'd gone backstage to rest.

The office was silent and dark when she returned. Roni sat in her chair, which creaked from handling Chica's weight, and pulled out her phone. She flipped through several websites, humming as the time passed. A flicker of movement caught her attention, and she sat up and glanced to the east hallway. A bear-shaped top hat wearing shadow lingered in the doorway, white eyes flashing for a moment before it disappeared.

"DAMMIT FREDDY!" Roni stomped into the hallway and glared towards the dining hall. "Stop lurking around and leave me alone!" She stormed back into the office, good mood evaporating.

The office wasn't empty. A large discolored costume was sitting on the floor, leaning up against the desk. It was gold-colored and dirty, adorned with a navy blue top hat and matching bow tie. It was also shaped exactly like Freddy Fazbear.

"Oh for Pete's sake – Bonnie, if this is one of your pranks I'm going to dismantle your arm and slap you with it!" The guard growled as she approached the desk and suit. She reached over the golden Freddy's head, trying to grab the tablet.

A gold hand shot forward, seizing her cast-clad wrist and keeping her from grabbing the tablet. She squeaked in alarm, taking a step back and staring down at the suit. Deep within the empty eye sockets, a red light was growing, illuminating the empty head from the inside. Without releasing her, the suit fluidly climbed to it's feet. It towered over her as it turned, flashing ruby gaze meeting her own. It kept her healing wrist in it's large paw, nearly encompassing the entire cast.

Roni, terrified, stared up at the battered, dirty face. It seemed to waver between dirty gold and chocolate brown, red eyes turning blue and back. Her stomach twisted into a solid knot as her vision wavered, the dark morning in the backstage room roaring to the forefront of her mind. She knew, without a doubt, that she would die this time around.

"Nothing to say?" The golden bears voice was deep and gravely, as though it's voice box was nothing but rust and frayed wires. The mouth forced itself into an ugly smile, the square teeth nearly as dark and yellow as the suit itself. He – at least it sounded like a he – yanked her closer, squeezing her cast.

Obligingly, Roni screamed. It only lasted a moment, however, as the monsters free paw came up and covered her entire face, effectively silencing her.

"Now, that's enough of that." He chided. "Even if you scream all night, it's not as though anyone will hear you. You sent them to bed, remember? And if I recall, just a moment ago, you yelled at Freddy to leave you alone." He released her face, only to run the back of his hand along her cheek.

"You really are quite a unique little human." His nose seemed to wrinkle. "I never thought a mere girl would be able to shake my hold, but you surprised me. I might have expected you to win over Bonnie and Chica, but Foxy – well, that was a surprise, but not an impossible feat. But you overthrowing Freddy," the bear shook his head, chuckling ruefully. "Well, I clearly underestimated you. I had that do-gooder completely under my thumb, but you managed to break him free from my control. I still don't understand how you convinced him of your humanity." He cupped her cheek in his paw, stroking beneath her eye with his thumb. "That doesn't really matter now, though, does it? You're going to die, because I'm going to kill you. Then I can get Freddy back under control and we can attack the next night guard together. And the next." He leaned closer, and a puff of dry, rotten air brushed Roni's face, making her gag. "And the next."

The Freddy copy moved his hand from her face to her neck, wrapping his fat fingers around her windpipe. "I think I'll strangle you before shoving you in a costume. Freddy picked out a _lovely _Bonnie suit for you, before the others interfered..."

Roni pulled in a sharp breath – possibly her last – and tried to lean back, pulling against his grip. She twisted her head away, her gaze coming to rest on the west hallway door. A pair of bright blue eyes met her own panicked green ones. They narrowed, and with a roar Freddy threw himself at his gold twin.

* * *

Freddy had been quite happily fixing up his microphone as the night guard, Roni, exited the kitchen and headed for her office. As soon as she was out of sight he began chuckling to himself, having to bow his head and cover his muzzle with a hand to keep it from echoing around the building. The little human had certainly put those three in their place! He'd tried to tell them to get extra rest at the start of their free roam time, but they'd ignored him in favor of visiting the guard. Thankfully she'd seen the same thing he had: they were exhausted. Freddy was tired as well, but he could grab a few hours rest when the others awoke. The four animatronics were still keeping a protective eye on Roni, waiting anxiously for 'him' to show up

_If _it was him. Freddy was still set on denying it – the mysterious shadows HAD to be from something else. _He _hadn't been seen since 1993, when that one guard – Mike Fitzgerald? Jeremy Schmidt? - had started having hallucinations. Twenty-two years without the angry spirit hadn't been nearly enough.

The old brown bear was torn from his unhappy musings by a rather loud swear being sent in his direction.

"DAMMIT FREDDY!" Roni was standing in the east hallway, hands on her hips as she yelled. "Stop lurking around and leave me alone!"

Well, there went his hope that it would be a quiet night.

Freddy quickly finished his work with his microphone, closing the black plastic casing and setting it in the stand. After making sure the camera wasn't on, he slipped off the stage and began slinking down the west hallway, sticking to the shadows in order to avoid Roni's sight and, more importantly, avoid having her scream at him again. Any inclination he had to be stealthy was destroyed when he heard a pained scream. He rushed the last dozen feet down the hall, stopping short to stare through the window into the office.

It _was _him. Golden Freddy, his predecessor, once a cherished friend and brother, now an empty suit possessed by a dangerous spirit bent on revenge and fueled by hatred. The brown-furred Freddy slunk towards the doorway, ears pinioned forward to catch every word being said to the night guard.

"...But you overthrowing Freddy. Well, I clearly underestimated you. I had that do-gooder completely under my thumb, but you managed to break him free from my control. I still don't understand how you convinced him of your humanity." Golden Freddy had his hand on Roni's face, keeping her still and quiet. Had his body been capable of imitating it, Freddy's hackles would have raised.

"That doesn't really matter now, though, does it? You're going to die, because I'm going to kill you. Then I can get Freddy back under control and we can attack the next night guard together. And the next. _And the next._"

Possession? _Possession?_ That angry, awful ghost had possessed him, messed with his wiring and sensors, corrupted his visual files? The inconsistencies of the last month fell into place, clicking together like plastic puzzle pieces. His inability to register Roni as a human, his resistance to his friends – his _families –_ explanations, his complete certainty in his actions, despite every instinct to the contrary that had tugged at the edges of his consciousness, which he had brushed off as nothing but a glitch.

"I think I'll strangle you before shoving you in a costume. Freddy picked out a _lovely_ Bonnie suit for you, before the others interfered..." Gold had moved his fingers around the guard skinny neck, applying gentle pressure to her windpipe. The girl twisted her head back and to the side, a look of panic battling a visage of pained resignation. Her eyes, growing wet with tears, met his own.

Freddy narrowed his gaze, anger overcoming his more reasonable instincts. He let loose an animalistic roar and launched himself at Gold, taking the empty suit by surprise.

* * *

Gold didn't release the night guard when he was tackled, dragging her down to the floor beside him instead as Freddy slammed into him. Roni yelled as her shoulder bashed against the ground, her cast still tight within Gold's grasp. Freddy, straddling the decrepit suit, seized his fraying arm and crushed the felt and plastic between his hands.

"Let. Her. Go."

Gold, seemingly immune to what should have been incredibly painful, merely smirked up at his successor. "Oh, but Freddy, you were _so excited _to see her shoved into a suit not so long ago, weren't you?"

With a roar that shook the papers on the desk, Freddy tore the copycats arm from his shoulder. The fingers wrapped around Roni's wrist went limp, and she scrambled away from the two bears until her back hit the wall. Her hearth thundered painfully against her rib cage as she fought to bring her breathing back under control. When her lungs had stopped burning she managed to focus on the two wrestling bears before her. There was a large, torn hole in Gold's shoulder, revealing a distinct lack of endoskeleton. Well that explained how Freddy had torn his arm off so easily. But then, how was the gold suit even able to move around? It shouldn't have been able to get off the floor, let alone run around and strangle night guards!

"Roni." Freddy spoke her voice in a calm yet strangled voice. He was still straddling the golden copycat, and had his large hands around it's throat. His eyes had gone from light blue to completely black with pinpricks of white light. Gold was prying at the hands around his neck, trying to get them to let go. "Run."

The girl didn't need to be told twice. She stood on shaky legs, using the wall to support herself, and skirted the pair of wrestling bears to escape into the west hall. As soon as she was clear of the flailing felt limbs, she unsteadily loped towards the dining room, intent on waking the other three animatronics.

Halfway down the hall, a pained roar echoed through the building, followed by an odd, girlish laugh. It didn't take a genius to realize what had happened. Roni stopped, turning to look behind her at the office, as Freddy yelled in pain again. Even if she didn't particularly like him, he _had _come to her rescue, and she was loathe to leave the bear to fend for himself.

But what could she do?

* * *

**AN: Wow, that was a serious case of writers block. **Obviously I didn't get it done when I said it would, and I ended up splitting the final fight into two parts. I'll try and get the next chapter up quicker!

Any reviews are SUPER APPRECIATED! They really inspire me to work faster/harder.


	9. Chapter 8: Freddy v Freddy

**Universal Language**

**Chapter 8: Freddy v Freddy**

A flashlight, a set of keys, a plastic baton, a duck-tape wallet, and a smart phone. Roni took a step back from the dining hall table, hands on her hips, and surveyed the tools in front of her. None of them were going to be particularly useful in fighting off a giant, possessed gold-colored teddy bear. Freddy and his clone were still wrestling in the office, judging from the yells and thumps coming at random intervals. She'd attempted to wake up Chica, but the animatronic hadn't budged, no matter how hard she shoved or yelled. Skipping Bonnie's closet (it was too close to the security office for comfort), she'd snuck across to Foxy's cove, only to be met with the same results. It seemed that she was on her own to save Freddy.

What she wouldn't give for a gun. Or a flamethrower. Hell, even one of those little butane lighters chefs used would work better than a plastic baton! She'd give her left arm for a worthwhile weapon. Well, maybe not her left arm – Foxy's left arm, sure. She could always make him another hook. There had to be an extra one in the backroom somewhere. Maybe she could replace it with a working flamethrower hand...

Roni shook her head, pulling her thoughts back on track. Right. She was trying to find a way to stop the gold teddy bear intent on killing her, _not _turn Foxy into the next Inspector Gadget. The guard groaned and looked over her tools again – none of this would help her. She snatched up the cheap, plastic baton and, with an angry huff, threw it.

It knocked into the stage, creating an odd, hollow noise as it smacked into one of the amps. Roni paused and stared at the amp – there was one on each side of the stage, and she knew the sound system was hooked up to the intercom. Bonnie had shown it to her before, when he was explaining how his guitar worked. The controls for the relatively-new sound system were just behind the curtains to the side of the stage. Her tired mind clicked through the options in front of her, and with a triumphant smirk she grabbed her phone and raced across the dining hall to the stage.

The sound system – a very basic set up compared to what she'd seen at concerts and such, basically a suped-up stereo with lots of inputs and outputs – was turned off. She moved to switch it on, then paused. If she hooked her phone up to the system, she could blast music throughout the restaurant and hopefully distract Gold and wake the others. She should wait until she had music playing to turn the machine on – static on the PA would tip the discolored Freddy-Clone off. A quick look through the neatly labeled cords hanging from the wall above the system provided a double-ended headphone jack. She turned on her phone's music program and, without paying attention, hit play. It would just cycle through all her tracks – there was no need, nor time, to try and set up something elaborate. Holding her breath, she plugged one end of the cord into her phone, and the other end into the machine, and then flipped the stereo system on.

There was a split-second pause as electricity raced through the wires in the building, seeking out the speakers in the ceilings and the amps on the stage, then-

_NAH, NAH, HONEY I'M GOOD_

_I COULD HAVE ANOTHER BUT I PROBABLY _

_SHOULD NOT_

_I'VE GOT SOMEBODY AT HOME_

Roni swore under her breath as Andy Grammer's "Honey I'm Good" blasted through the speakers a few feet away from her. It was echoing all around the building, thanks to the intercoms pumping it through the un-padded halls and party rooms.

Despite the noise, Roni could hear a loud crash from the office, as well as a rather inappropriate swear as one of the Freddy's was hurt. She jumped off the stage and crouched behind one of the table, watching as a top-hat-wearing-bear-shaped shadow appeared from the office. She couldn't tell which one it was, so she held her breath, waiting to see which animatronic would emerge.

_I GOTTA BE LIKE OH BABY, NO BABY_

_YOU GOT ME ALL WRONG BABY_

_MY BABY'S ALREADY GOT ALL OF MY LOVE_

Golden Freddy emerged from the west hallway, a sneer on his mechanical mouth as he looked around the dining room. It was a bit dim since the restaurant ran on reserve lighting during the night, but his red eyes could still see the tables, chairs and stage. His arm had been re-attached, though she couldn't fathom how. At the opposite end of the dining hall, Roni swore and crawled under the table she had been crouched behind, trying to get as far away from the yellow maniac as possible.

"Come out, come out, little girl." Gold sang as he slowly walked into the room, his eyes skipping over the tables and chairs and zeroing in on the stage. She'd used the sound system to interrupt his thorough thrashing of Freddy and draw him out of the office. He skirted the tables and walked around the edge of the room, stopping beside the stage and pulling back the curtains to peer at the sound system. She had hooked up her cellphone to the stereo, then turned the volume on the machine up in order to make it deafeningly loud.

_NO, HONEY, I'M GOOD_

_I COULD HAVE ANOTHER BUT_

_I PROBABLY SHOULD NOT_

_I GOTTA BID YOU ADIEU_

_TO ANOTHER I WILL STAY TRUE_

"Clever girl." Just as Gold was about to grab the phone and turn off the stereo, a chair in the middle of the room fell over. He froze, head turning unnaturally far to peer at the chair. The small child-sized party chair had tipped over onto it's side, but there was no sign of the girl. Still, she was in here, probably looking for a way to get to the office. Smirking, Gold moved unnaturally fast to block the two halls. She would not be escaping him this easily.

_SING IT NOW_

_OH-WOAH-OH_

_I WILL STAY TRUE_

Roni swore as her leg knocked against one of the kids chairs, tipping it over. As soon as Gold had moved to the front of the room, she'd begun army-crawling her way to the back. Without pausing, she scrambled frantically out from under that table and over to the next one, which had a birthday party tablecloth on it that provided better cover. Absently, she noticed the first song winding down as a second one began, an up-beat eighties synthesizer heralding it's start.

_ONE WAY OR ANOTHER_

_I'M GONNA FIND YA_

_I'M GONNA GETCHA GETCHA GETCHA GETCHA_

_ONE WAY OR ANOTHER_

_I'M GONNA WIN YA_

_I'M GONNA GETCHA GETCHA GETCHA GETCHA_

Roni poked her head out from under the edge of the table cloth and spotted Gold guarding the entrances to the hallway. His gaze kept returning to the fallen chair in the middle of the room. Silently, Roni army-crawled beneath the tables to the far side of the room nearest the main exit and entrance. There was a shift of movement from the hallways, and she froze, holding her breath as Gold began to move.

_ONE WAY OR ANOTHER_

_I'M GONNA SEE YA_

_I'M GONNA MEETCHA MEETCHA MEETCHA MEETCHA_

Gold was getting frustrated. He had never been a patient bear, and this stupid music playing over the speakers was making his ears twitch. The girl was somewhere in this room, hiding beneath the tables. He just had to figure out which one. Or, maybe...

A smirk crossed his stiff lips as he grabbed the table nearest to him and flipped it onto it's side, revealing a strip of unswept floor beneath. He growled and grabbed the next table, flipping it over as well. Nothing. He began flipping all the tables around him, intent on working his way through the whole room until he found the brat.

_ONE WAY OR ANOTHER _

_I'M GONNA GETCHA_

_I'M GONNA GETCHA GETCHA GETCHA GETCHA_

Roni winced as another table bit the dust at the hands of the golden monstrosity. He was flipping them all over, apparently, though at least he had started on the side nearest the kitchen. While he was distracted with replicating an internet meme, she moved towards the west hallway. The repeating chorus covered her footsteps, and holding her breath, she crawled between the last table and the west hall, unseen by Gold's angry red eyes.

_HAPPINESS HIT HER LIKE A TRAIN ON A TRACK_

_COMING TOWARDS HER STUCK STILL NO TURNING BACK_

Oh thank God, he hadn't seen her. Roni crept as quietly as possible down the hall, loathe to make any noise that this odd animatronic could hear through the music and bring him running. Just as she was halfway down the hall, one of the tables nearest the front doors was flipped, and the animatronic roared in frustration.

_FUN FAST FOR YOUR MOTHER _

_RUN FAST FOR YOUR FATHER_

_RUN FOR YOUR CHILDREN_

_FOR YOUR SISTERS AND BROTHERS_

On the advice of the song, Roni took off in a dead sprint and closed the gap between her and the office door in seconds. She threw herself into the room, panting, and waited anxiously for the sound of the clone's footsteps echoing through the hallway. There were none – only more crashing as table after table fell to his wrath.

As soon as she was certain he wasn't going to crash into the room with an axe and a tired movie line, the guard turned to find Freddy laying spread-eagle on the floor, his costume torn and a rather bad dent in one shoulder. She winced in sympathy, then dropped to her knees beside his head and gave him a shake.

"Wake up, Freddy. I know you're tired but we really don't have time to nap right now." She hissed, just loud enough to be heard above the music but not loud enough to be heard in the dining hall.

_THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER_

_THE DOG DAYS ARE DONE_

_CAN YOU HEAR THE HORSE?_

_'CAUSE HERE THEY COME_

The shaking and subsequent whispered threats did nothing to wake the animatronic, who appeared to be out cold. Roni groaned in frustration – the loud music obviously hadn't woken the others from their naps, and apparently Freddy had been cold-clocked by his clone and was down for the count. With an angry grunt, she guard brought her fist down on Freddy's forehead, not expecting a reaction.

_THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER_

_THE DOG DAYS ARE DONE_

_THE HORSES ARE COMING_

_SO YOU'D BETTER RUN_

Bright blue eyes flashed open, showcasing confusion and pain as Freddy's systems rebooted. Roni had hit him just hard enough to jolt his systems into action, resetting his sleep cycle and pulling him from his unwanted recharge.

"Roni?" He asked slowly, blinking at the surprised guard leaning over him.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry I hit you but it worked!" Roni took a step back as the bear dragged himself upright. He leaned heavily against the desk, still sitting, and looked around in worry.

"Where's Gold?" He demanded.

_THERE'S A MAN GOIN' 'ROUND TAKIN' NAMES_

_AN' HE DECIDES WHO TO FREE AND WHO TO BLAME_

_EVERYBODY WON'T BE TREATED ALL THE SAME_

_THERE'LL BE A GOLDEN LADDER REACHING DOWN_

_WHEN THE MAN COMES AROUND._

"Dining hall," Roni immediately answered, dropping to her knees beside him. "He's destroying the tables, I think."

Freddy winced at that, then winced again as the music picked up speed. "And what is this racket?"

"That _racket _is Johnny Cash!" Roni responded, sounding offended.

"Why is Johnny Cash making a racket in my restaurant?" Was it her imagination, or did Freddy look almost _amused _at her reaction?

"I plugged my phone into the sound system and played music to draw out Goldie Bear."

The brown animatronic nodded in thought. "Good idea. Where are the others?"

Roni bounced back to her feet. "Asleep. I'll need your help to wake them up." She held out a hand to help the bear to his feet, and was stunned when instead, he pulled her forward. She yelped and landed on top of him.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" She demanded as soon as she'd gotten her bearings.

Freddy flashed her an apologetic grimace. "I'm sorry, it seems my legs are – are out of commission."

Roni scrambled off of him and saw deep dents and a cut down one side, towards his hip. Freddy tried to push himself up using the desk, but as soon as he reached his feet they wobble, and he fell face-first onto the floor. To the guards surprise, he _swore _as he pushed himself back upright, leaning against the desk again.

_WHOEVER IS UNJUST, LET HIM BE UNJUST STILL_

_WHOEVER IS RIGHTEOUS, LET HIM BE RIGHTEOUS STILL_

_WHOEVER IS FILFTHY, LET HIM BE FILTHY STILL_

_LISTEN TO THE WORDS LONG WRITTEN DOWN,_

_WHEN THE MAN COMES AROUND_

"You need to run." Freddy grabbed her uncasted arm, pulling the guard closer so she could hear him past the music. "Gold will not stop until you're dead, and I can't protect you tonight. Neither can the others. You have to run, now."

"What?" Roni stared at the bear, who only a month earlier had been the threat she tried to run from.

"Leave through the backdoor. I'll do my best to distract Gold while you run."

"No!" She jerked her arm from his grip, absently rubbing at her cast. "He hurt you, and he could hurt the others too. They're my friends – I'm not just going to abandon them!"

"Is that so?"

_AND I HEARD A VOICE IN THE MIDST OF THE FOUR BEASTS_

_AND I LOOKED AND BEHOLD: A PALE HORSE_

_AND HIS NAME, THAT SAT UPON HIM, WAS DEATH_

_AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH HIM_

Golden Freddy sneered at the pair as he entered the room, ignoring the strains of a guitar as the next of the guards silly little distraction began. Freddy fought to get up, but his strength was spent and he ended up looking more like a fool than a defender. The girl stood slightly behind him, looking torn between fear and defiance. The old animatronic couldn't decide which he liked more.

"I was going to make your death quick," he said conversationally, inspecting the tips of his fingers as though he had nails to observe. "A few minutes of air deprivation and it would have been over. But you," he shot Freddy a nasty look, "had to interfere. So now I'm going to do just what Freddy was." He leaned towards the two silent do-gooders. "Shove you, alive and screaming, into a suit."

_IF I DIE YOUNG, BURY ME IN SATIN_

_LAY ME DOWN ON A BED OF ROSES_

_SINK ME IN A RIVER AT DAWN_

_SEND ME AWAY WITH THE WORDS OF A LOVE SONG_

"NO!" Freddy tried to lunge at his copy cat, and had he been able it would have been a heroic gesture. Instead, he flopped onto his side, unable to bring his legs up in time to push him towards the yellow bear. Said bear cackled and smirked at his replacement as the stupid girl tried to help him back up. As soon as Freddy was able to sit up and watch, Gold grabbed the guard by her arm and pulled her from the room.

"So long, brother!" He tossed a casual wave over his shoulder as he dragged the struggling guard down the hall.

_A PENNY FOR MY THOUGHTS?OH NO, I'LL SEEL 'EM FOR A DOLLAR_

_THEY'RE WORTH SO MUCH MORE AFTER I'M A GONER_

_AND MAYBE THEN YOU'LL HEAR THE WORDS I'VE BEEN SINGING_

_FUNNY WHEN YOU'RE DEAD HOW PEOPLE START LISTENING_

"Let go of me! Let go!" Roni tried to pull her arm from the bear's grasp, panting and digging her heels into the tiled floor to try and slow him down. The bear didn't even bother to acknowledge her, just kept his tight-as-steel grip around her upper arm and bounced his head to the tune of the song as he dragged her into the dining hall.

The room was practically destroyed. Every table had been flipped over, and almost all of them either had legs broken off or were broken in half. Several of the chairs were completely torn apart, and others were missing one or two legs or the back. Roni felt her jaw drop as she looked around at the destruction. The birthday party table cloth she had been peeking out from not even ten minutes before had been torn to shreds, which lay over the splintered wood and twisted plastic like some kind of sick confetti.

_UH OH, UH OH_

_THE BALLAD OF A DOVE, UH OH_

_GO WITH PEACE AND LOVE_

_GATHER UP YOUR TEARS, KEEP THEM IN YOUR POCKET_

_SAVE 'EM FOR A TIME WHEN YOU'RE REALLY GONNA NEED 'EM_

"Do you like what I've done with the place?" Gold asked as he dragged her past the wreckage and up onto the stage. She made a faint squeaking noise in the back of her throat as he approached the backroom. She'd avoided it like the plague for the past month.

"Please," her voice was faint, and had he not been an animatronic Gold would have missed it within the music, "I don't want to die."

He chuckled, throwing open the replaced door with it's poorly-taped up 'employee's only' sign and squeaky hinge. "My dear, nobody wants to die. But you're a night guard, and this is what you signed up for." He dragged her into the darkened back room. The lights flipped on when he glanced upwards, not that Roni noticed. She was staring at the table in horror.

The Bonnie suit was lying on it, completely still and innocent.

"Like I said earlier," Gold dragged her farther into the room and swung her about, slamming her into the table, "Freddy picked out a _lovely _Bonnie suit for you." He released Roni, who collapsed to the floor, the breath completely knocked out of her. Humming to himself, Gold began to pull apart the suit, making sure to lay the pieces on the floor so that the human could see all the sharp, pointy parts.

A choir of violins split the silence as a new song began to play – Gold scolded himself for not unplugging the cellphone on his way up, but he'd had his hands full with the struggling guard. The violins were joined by horns, and a man started singing in an unfamiliar language. He shrugged to himself and ignored the song, despite the nagging feeling that it was _familiar _in some way.

On the ground, Roni rolled over onto her stomach, groaning in pain. She was certain she would have a nice, purple bruise all along her back where she had hit the table by tomorrow. If she was alive tomorrow, that is. Gold glanced at her, then went back to dismantling the Bonnie suit. He was muttering to himself as he did so. Unable to move, Roni closed her eyes and tried to take a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for her nearby fate.

_TOREADOR, EN GUARD! TOREADOR, TOREADOR!_

_ET SONGE BIEN, OUI, SONGE EN COMBATTANT_

_QU'UN OEIL NOIR TE REGARDE,_

_ET QUE L'AMOUR T'ATTEND,_

_TOREADOR, L'AMOUR T'ATTEND!_

_ET SONG BEITN, OUI, SONGE EN COMBATTANT_

_QU'UN OEIL NOIR TE REGARDE,_

_ET QUE L'AMOUR T'ATTEND,_

_TOREADOR, L'AMOUR T'ATTEND!_

That horribly familiar tune brought Gold up short, and he snapped his head down to the side to glare at Roni. Feeling his gaze, she glared back up at him, a smirk curling her lips.

"Not a fan of classic opera?" She asked mockingly, deciding that if she was going out, she might as well go out snarky and sarcastic. "I heard a rumor _Freddy _likes it."

Gold dropped the Bonnie head he'd been inspecting and grabbed the guard by the throat, dragging her upright and into the air. "I'm not afraid of Freddy's little 'theme song.'" He sneered, before dropping her back to the ground. Roni grunted as she hit the ground and didn't bother to get up, trying to get her breath back once more.

The song continued, the French singer telling the story of bull fights to the two listening. At least that's what Roni thought it was about – she couldn't be sure, as she didn't speak French. Hell, she didn't think half the people who spoke French could understand this opera anyway – the singing seemed to distort the language, almost. Or maybe it was just that you had to be in the theater to understand the words.

_TOREADOR, L'AMOUR T'ATTEND!_

_L'AMOUR! L'AMOUR! L'AMOUR!_

_TOREADOR, TOREADOR, L'AMOUR T'ATTEND!_

The song came to an end, and Roni groaned as she was dragged upright once more by the golden monstrosity, who had the back part of the Bonnie suit laid out on the table, ready for stuffing. "It will be more painful this way," he said conversationally, pointing to the pieces of pipe and rod sticking out of the suit, meant to attach to an endoskeleton. "And it will take longer. Much, _much _longer. I figured we'd do one limb at a time." He glanced down at her cast. "Starting with this one."

Just as Roni was getting ready to spit off a fountain of vitriol and swears, a soft jingling filled the room. Gold rolled his eyes once more and glared at her. "Really, Freddy's silly little jingle?" He sneered, bringing her nose-to-nose with him. "_You can't scare me!" _

"Aye, she can't. But I be betting we can."

There was a clatter as Foxy dropped Roni's cellphone to the floor. The guard slumped in relief at the sight of her friends – Foxy was standing in the front, glaring at Gold as though hoping his look could kill. At his side was Chica, who had her hands on her hips and a ferocious gleam in her eyes. Bonnie was behind them, supporting a still injured Freddy. Roni felt a shudder run down her spine – the look in the brown bear's eyes was absolutely _murderous_.

Foxy lunged at Gold, kicking the cellphone out of the way as he did so. The screen blinked to life, and another song began to play, echoing from the phone's speakers.

_WHERE HAVE ALL THE GOOD MEN GONE_

_AND WHERE ARE ALL THE GODS?_

_WHERE'S THE STREET-WISE HERCULES_

_TO FIGHT THE RISING ODDS?_

Gold dropped Roni in favor of defending himself. She hit the floor for the third time with a pained groan, and did her best to pull herself away from the conflict. Chica, who was right behind Foxy, gave her a glance before throwing herself at the old bear with a shriek of rage. Together, she and Foxy drove him back, away from the table and human.

_I NEED A HERO, I'M HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO_

_'TIL THE END OF THE NIGHT_

_HE'S GOTTA BE STRONG_

_AND HE'S GOTTA BE FAST_

_AND HE'S GOTTA BE FRESH FROM THE FIGHT_

A pair of purple hands grabbed Roni's shoulders, pulling her upright. Bonnie didn't say anything – he just led her from the room and onto the stage. Freddy, still unable to stand, was sitting near the door against the wall. The bunny sat Roni beside him.

"Stay here," he demanded, pointing a finger at her. She raised a brow, but nodded. Bonnie pointed at Freddy and repeated the command. Then, with a rather dangerous gleam in his eyes, he ran back into the storage room. There was a crunch, and the music from the cell phone immediately cut off. Roni winced at the thought of having to buy a new phone, then wanted to smack herself for worrying about losing her phone when she'd just nearly lost her _life_.

"Roni," a brown hand rested on her shoulder, "are you alright?" Freddy was looking her up and down with concern. "Are you injured? Bleeding at all?"

"No, just – just dizzy is all. You okay?" The girl leaned against the wall, trying to blink away the stars dancing in front of her eyes.

"I can be repaired." Freddy kept his hand on her shoulder, though his concerned gaze was pulled elsewhere only a moment later.

A roar of 'ENOUGH!' proceeded Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy being thrown out of the backroom, one after the other. Gold appeared in the doorway and Roni noted, absently, that he was _floating_ and emitting some kind of black, gooey aura. He glared at them each in turn, red eyes shrunk to mere pinpricks inside his head. Finally, his gaze rested on Roni.

"I _will _kill you." He seethed, pointing threateningly at her. Before she could respond, a brown arm was thrust in front of her, and she found herself herded against Freddy's side.

"You will have to go through me first." The brown bear stated, his eyes stony.

"And me," Bonnie and Chica stated at the same time as they got to their feet, supporting each other. Beside them, Foxy leapt upright, tail swishing back and forth anxiously.

"Aye, ye best be keepin' yer hands off'a me matey!" He shook his hook at the floating bear.

Gold sneered once more. "You'd best all keep one eye open." There was an odd, almost static-y like noise, and he disappeared.

Roni decided she really didn't want to know anything about the magical floating/disappearing bear tonight and instead focused on the bear still on the stage. Freddy had withdrawn his arm when Gold left, and was watching her with concerned blue eyes. To the shock of all four animatronics, Roni leaned against him, wrapping her arms as far around his torso as she could in a hug.

"Thank you for saving me." She muttered, burying her face in his side. A heavy hand dropped around her shoulder, holding her close.

"Of course, Miss Byrd." The bear muttered.

There was a moment of stunned silence, before Foxy finally had enough and broke it. "I don' mean to be interruptin' this homey scene, but wha' in Davey Jone's locker happened?"

* * *

By the time Roni and Freddy finished their explanation of the night's events, Roni had been hugged by each of the animatronics several times. They were sitting in a circle on the stage, with Freddy and her side by side, both leaning against the wall. Chica had given Freddy a hug as well, promising to take care of all his chores while he rested his damaged frame. Bonnie and Foxy both agreed to help. After giving the two stern orders to rest, the three jumped off the stage and got to work cleaning up the dining room and figuring out what could be salvaged.

At 6:02, Jonathan Fazbear II arrived to find the dining area of the restaurant in complete disarray, three harried animatronics trying to salvage everything they could, and a damaged Freddy and injured Roni sleeping on the stage. He had to pause at that – he'd never thought the day would come when those two would willingly get near each other, but there they were. Freddy was sleeping sitting up, legs out in front of him, head slightly tilted back as he simulated snoring. Roni was curled up on her side, using his lap as a pillow. Someone – probably Chica or Bonnie – had thrown a table cloth over her like a blanket. Freddy had a hand resting on her shoulder, keeping her from moving around in her sleep. Oddly, both of them seemed to have little smiles on their faces, despite the damage.

"Eep!"

Ah, Chica had spotted him. Fazbear moved his gaze from the stage to her, Bonnie, and Foxy, who were each clutching brooms and had a 'deer in the headlights' expression etched across their expressive faces. He looked around at the destruction once more and pulled out his cell phone. A few quick calls, and the restaurant was closed for the day. Nobody would be coming in for work. As soon as he was done, he looked at the three awake animatronics, crossed his arms, and scowled.

"Explanation. Now."

* * *

**AN: **This was SO MUCH FUN to write! These are some of my favorite songs. In order of appearance:

Andy Grammer – Honey I'm Good

Blondie – One Way or Another

Florence &amp; the Machines – Dog Days Are Over

Johnny Cash – The Man Comes Around

The Band Perry – If I Die Young

Georges Bizet – Toreador Song

Freddy's Jingle

Bonnie Tyler – Holding Out For A Hero

The last one was kinda cheesy, I know, but it was just too much fun to pass up! One chapter, all planned and ready to write, is left!

**Reviews and critiques are always welcome**! Thanks for reading.


	10. Chapter 9: The Fazbear Gang Plus 1

**Universal Language**

**Chapter 9: The Fazbear Gang Plus 1**

"So then Foxy jumps at him, really, he does this _epic _tackle-"

"Aye, it was a thing of beauty!"

"-and he takes down Gold, and Chica was right behind him-"

"She be a brave lass!"

"-and shoves him away and I went in and grabbed Roni-"

"Once the danger was out of the way, mind."

"-Shut up Chica. So we got Roni out of the backroom and then-"

A cacophony of explanations and side comments filtered through Roni's tired brain as she woke, interrupting a dream about being a security guard on a private island that paid a bazillion dollars a week and had a distinct lack of homicidal-ghost based insurance claims. The Fazbear guard opened her eyes slowly, squinting in the bright stage lights, and took in her surroundings. Her head was on an odd, brown pillow, which was attached to a brown foreleg, which in turn was attached to a puffy brown foot with round toes. There was a checkered tablecloth tucked around her like a blanket, and a heavy weight on her shoulder. Barely shifting her head, she looked up to see a hand of the same brown hue resting on her shoulder. Beyond the hand was a shoulder, and beyond the shoulder was a smirking Freddy Fazbear.

The bear was obviously enjoying the haphazard accounting the other three animatronics were giving to Mr. Fazbear. He felt Roni move and met her eyes, his smile softening when he realized she was awake. Silently, he helped her sit up, adjusting the tablecloth around her shoulders like a blanket. She settled back against the wall as they continued listening to the others dramatic retelling of the night. It wasn't long before she had her own smirk to match Freddy's.

"So then Gold gets up and he's _angry _as shit-"

"Bonnie! Watch your language!"

"Sorry Chica – anyway, he's _ticked _and he has all this black gooey stuff around him and he THROWS us out of the back room and onto the stage-"

"Aye he did, and it _hurt!_"

"And Gold comes out and he's yelling at us about getting revenge and killing Roni, but we stood up to him!"

"We sure did!"

"Aye, we told that scurvy cur to stuff himself in a cannon and blast 'himself away!"

"...You never said that."

"I were thinkin' it."

Muffled laughter from the stage pulled the rooms attention to the two 'invalids' of the mornings battle. Roni was biting on a corner of the table cloth to keep herself from giggling aloud, and Freddy was doing his best to smother his own chortles. Neither was doing a very good job.

Jonathan Fazbear rolled his eyes at the two. "Well," he declared as he climbed onto the stage and came to stand in front of them, hands on his hips, "At least you two are getting along now."

"Like birds of a feather." Roni confirmed cheerily.

"Wouldn't that better describe your friendship with Chica?" Freddy asked curiously.

"Yes, but 'like bears of a fur' doesn't have the same ring, y'know?"

A throat clearing pulled their attention back to Mr. Fazbear. "Are you injured, Miss Byrd?"

Roni slowly stood up, experimentally moving her arms and shoulders as she dropped the tablecloth. "I'm a bit bruised and battered," she concluded, rubbing at the aching strip along her back where she'd been slammed into the work table, "But I do believe I'll survive."

"And – though I hardly think this is necessary to ask again – you are willing to continue your role here as the nighttime security guard?" Fazbear asked, brow raised as he was met with a bright smile.

"O'course, sir! No psycho yellow bear is going to keep me from my friends!"

Foxy, Bonnie, and Chica had all clambered onto the stage by this point, forming a neat little circle beside Freddy, Fazbear and Roni. The pirate flicked his eye patch up, gazing at the guard with bright, happy eyes.

"I be happy to hear ye say that, lass! 'Specially since you've faced down death no less than five times since you came 'ere!"

The other three animatronics stiffened at Foxy's words. Roni turned a confused smile on him, one brow raised.

"Five? I've only been attacked by Freddy – sorry Freddy, I know it wasn't really you now – and that Golden monstrosity. That's twice."

Before any of the others could stop him, Foxy answered. "Aye, but then there be the time ye met Bonnie, 'n the time ye met Chica, and then when ye met me!" He struck a slight pose at this, chest puffed out.

Roni's smile faltered. "What are you talking about?" She asked, sunny disposition disappearing behind a cloud.

Foxy stiffened, acutely aware of the glares the others were sending his way. "Ye mean – ye never realized – I mean, I didn't -"

"Let me get this straight," Roni turned to face Bonnie and Chica, "The only reason you guys came to the office on those first nights was to – was to grab me and stuff me in a suit?"

The bunny gulped. "Well, yes, but we thought you were an endo, honest!"

"We would never hurt a human," Chica insisted.

A heavy brown hand brought Roni's attention to Freddy, who had managed to stand and was leaning against the wall. He made sure he had her full attention. "Roni, they were underneath Golden's control, just like I was. Somehow, you snapped them out of it."

"But still – what if – I mean you're all stronger than me and if I hadn't – what did I _do_?" The guard had begun to pale beneath her bruised cheeks.

"Go home."

"Huh?"

Fazbear shooed away the four animatronics, glaring at them (especially Foxy) until they backed off. "Go home. The restaurant is closed for the day, and possibly for the rest of the week." He eyed the damage to Freddy's frame and the complete systematic destruction of the dining hall. "Go home, get some rest. Take some Tylenol or something, just take it easy. Come back this evening, say around seven, and we'll figure this all out, okay?" He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Roni slowly nodded and shuffled off the stage and to the office. The animatronics and manager watched her go, each with their own worries bouncing around their heads. A moment later she reappeared, purse in hand, and after hesitating a moment she gave the group on the stage a small wave. As she left through the main doors, she could hear Fazbear addressing the animatronics.

"Now, who wants to explain why you're all still active since it's _well after six o'clock in the morning_?"

* * *

At seven on the dot, Roni returned to the pizzeria. The dining hall had been completely cleaned out. There was a stack of salvageable tables and chairs by the stage, but all the wood splinters, destroyed press-board, and torn tablecloths had been thrown into the pair of dumpsters out back – she'd seen them when walking by. The dining hall also held a distinct lack of animatronics and managers. Roni dropped her purse onto the stage and tilted her head, listening closely. The nice thing about the pizzeria was that none of the walls were carpeted, and almost all of the floors were tile. There was nothing to absorb sound, making it incredibly hard to sneak around. For humans, at least. She had no idea how the animatronics managed to move around like shadows in the halls.

There was a loud 'CLANG' and an angry sounding 'Oh, fiddlesticks!' from the direction of the kitchen. Roni crossed the now empty room and peeked inside.

Chica was cooking – no surprise there – with the help of Mr. Fazbear and Freddy. The chicken had dropped a tin of olives and was glaring at where they had rolled under the prep counter. Fazbear chuckled and got down on his knees, having to bend all the way over and stretch his arm out to grab them. Freddy rolled his eyes at the two clumsy chefs, only to meet Roni's concerned pair hovering in the doorway.

He dropped the piece of pizza dough he had been tossing in surprise, which caught the others attention. Fazbear quickly straightened up, nearly banging his head against the underside of the prep counter, and tossed the olives to Chica. She barely managed to catch them and muttered to herself about 'tiny cans with no sense of decency' before turning back to her pizza. The manager ignored her, waved Freddy off, and without a word wrapped an arm around Roni's shoulder and led her from the kitchen. Once they were both seated on the edge of the stage, he sighed.

"How are you feeling?"

"Sore."

Fazbear frowned at the flat tone in her voice. "Hmm, I would imagine so. Anything beyond bruises? Any cuts or fractures?"

"Nothing beyond this." Roni raised her left arm, still in it's bright-green cast, and wiggled her fingers. Her voice was still nearly emotionless.

"Miss Byrd, dear, are you alright?" Fazbear turned to face her, drawing one leg up under himself and leaving the other dangling. She gave him an incredulous look (he was happy to see it) but didn't answer. "What I mean is that you don't sound like yourself."

"Oh," she scowled, looking at the ground a few feet beneath her sneakers. "I'm not in the best of moods, y'know."

"Why not?"

Another incredulous look, coupled with a glare towards the end. "I just found out that three people I consider my friends were actually trying to _kill me_ when he first met."

"To be fair, and from what I understand, that wasn't exactly _them_." Fazbear pointed out. "From what Freddy told me, it sounds like 'Golden' was possessing them all when they first approached you."

"Then why did they stop?" Roni demanded. "If they really _weren't _in control of themselves, they shouldn't have been able to stop themselves. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy they did, but – I just don't know if I can trust them anymore." The girls shoulders slumped in defeat, and she propped her head up on her hands to keep it from drooping.

"Why don't you ask them?" Fazbear pointed to the four animatronics, who had come into the room quietly while the two were talking. All four were looking distinctly uncomfortable. Chica was holding a pizza box that had steam escaping the edges, and Freddy had a plate of cupcakes in hand. Fazbear motioned with his hand for them to come closer. Freddy and Chica set their food down on the stage beside the two humans, before taking a large step back to stand in line beside the other two.

After a moment of tense silence, the chicken finally spoke up. "How are you feeling, Roni?"

"Sore." Fazbear winced – the flat, emotionless voice was back.

Silence reigned for a few minutes, the animatronics unsure of what to say, and Roni unsure if she wanted them to say anything at all. Finally, the silence began to grate on her nerves.

"Why did you stop?" She finally asked, lifting her head to focus on Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy.

"Stop?" The bunny asked.

"When you came into the office that first time, why didn't you drag me out to hand me over to Freddy?" Roni straightened up, staring intently at the quartet, ignoring how the bear flinched at her words.

Bonnie looked thoughtful for a moment, ears perked up as he thought back to that first night. "Well, you were listening to music, remember? And singing along to it." The guard nodded and motioned for him to continue. "I've never seen an endo do that before, and it made me stop and watch. Then you, well, _talked _to me. You didn't scream bloody murder and slam the door in my face." A fond smile crossed said face. "You asked if I liked music, and fixed your little MP3 player thingy when I messed it up, and found music that you thought I'd like – that Jimmy Hendrix fella." He met her gaze, his expression soft. "You treated me like a friend or a co-worker, not a dumb animatronic or a monster. I realized that you couldn't be an endo then."

Roni moved her eyes to the chicken standing next to him. She fluffed the feathers on her arms a bit, and tugged at her bib. "Well that fir – no, I guess it was the second night, right? Anyway, I saw Bonnie and you listening to music but I didn't understand why he wasn't trying to grab you. And Bonnie wouldn't let me into the room anyway – you were distracted, but he kept glaring at me." She gave the rabbit a shaky smile. "Then that song came on – the one with the lady singing. We don't hear a lot of music from outside, you know, and it was weird hearing a _girl _singing all by itself. Then that conga song came on, and you yelled and jumped and started clapping." The chicken giggled, and Roni was sure there was a light blush along her cheeks, judging by Freddy, Foxy, and Mr. Fazbear's amused smirks. "That's what the little kids do when we sing, and then you got Bonnie to do it, and I've never seen him react like that before – probably because he always has a guitar in his hands when we're on stage – but then I realized that you were acting like a little kid!" Chica finally stopped to watch Roni's reaction. The woman had her eyebrows raised, but was still listening. "Well, they'd never make an endo that acts like a kid – I mean, we play with kids, but we don't always _act _like kids. We couldn't take care of them if we thought and acted like kids! It confused me, until I realized that the only way you'd be acting like that was because you're human. Then it was like – like I blinked, and suddenly you didn't look like an endoskeleton anymore, just a girl."

The guards gaze traveled to Foxy, who was biting on the end of his hook. Was it her imagination, or did he look almost – _embarrassed? _"Ah, well, ye see lass," his ears drooped as he stopped nibbling on his hook. "I stopped me attack on ye 'cause...'cause...ye called me...cool."

Beside Foxy, Freddy looked as though he wanted to roll his eyes, but was trying very hard not to. Chica and Bonnie were both staring at him in astonishment, and Fazbear smacked himself in the forehead at the answer. Beside him, Roni covered her mouth to hide her quirked lips.

"And then ye rushed off ta help Chica with nary a thought to yer own safety, and when ye fell in the kitchen ye complained about the _taste_ of the floor – I mean flour." Foxy quickly continued, burying his embarrassment under a list of other quirks he'd noticed. "We animatronics can't taste, ye know."

"I do now." Roni dropped her hand, and her smile, as her gaze turned to Freddy. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, before she took pity on the stuttering bear. "So, just to make this clear – none of you were actually out to kill me? You really thought I was just an endoskeleton?"

Freddy – looking very relieved at not being called on to explain his actions – slumped in relief. "Yes," he answered for the group. "Golden tricked us into thinking you were an endoskeleton so we wouldn't fight when he forced us to go after you – we thought we were following the rules, and never realized it wasn't our own actions. If we'd seen a human instead of an endo, we would have fought his control tooth and nail."

Roni bit her lip and nodded, eyes clouding over once more. She turned to Mr. Fazbear with her last question. "So, how many security guards has Golden killed?"

All the animatronics stiffened in discomfort, and Fazbear looked a deer caught in headlights as she stared at him. "What, uh," he nervously adjusted his tie, "what do you mean?"

"Golden said he'd killed night guards before. How many have died here?" She asked, motioning over her shoulder to the backroom.

"None," her shoulders almost relaxed, "in this establishment, at least."

"What?"

He gestured around the dining hall. "We only renovated and moved into this building a few years ago. Since then, no night guard has been killed."

"And – and before here?"

Fazbear sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Five."

Roni was watching the animatronics when he said the number. All of them flinched, and Chica buried herself in Bonnie's side. He obligingly wrapped an arm about her shoulder, while Freddy patted her back. The four looked devastated at being reminded of their worst nights.

"Roni, they never set out to kill anybody." Fazbear pulled her attention back to himself, giving the animatronics time to compose themselves. "It was never intentional."

"Second degree manslaughter instead of first degree murder?" Roni raised a brow.

The manager winced at the description. "Well, yes, I suppose you could put it that way."

There was a moment of tense silence, before Chica once again broke it. She released Bonnie and, wiping away what looked like window-washer fluid from her eyes, she gave Roni a tense smile.

"We understand if you want to leave," she sniffed.

"Why would I leave?"

Instead of a tense silence, this one was filled with a feeling of surprise and bafflement. Roni allowed a small smile to cross her lips as she stood, hands on hips, and looked down at the animatronics from the stage.

"I mean, really, you never _meant _to hurt anybody, that's obvious. And if I leave, who's to say that Gold bastard won't try something again? I know his game now, and we've beaten him once. I'm not going to leave and let a new night guard go through all that." She jumped (rather carefully) off the stage, and beamed up at the four. "Besides, I'm not done getting to know my friends yet."

Chica let out an odd, happy bird-like noise and wrapped her arms around Roni in a tight hug. The guard grunted as her bruises were pressed, but hugged the chicken back. The other three animatronics quickly followed, turning it into a group hug.

Fazbear enjoyed the scene for a moment, before he saw how uncomfortable Roni was becoming and coughed to get their attention. "Miss Byrd, I had a question for you." The animatronics released the girl, and she beamed up at her boss, despite the aches and pains. "When being attacked by Golden Freddy, why did you not just shut the doors?"

Roni tilted her head to the side, a confused smile on her face. "What doors?"

* * *

**AN: FINISHED. **

**Thank you so much for all the reviews and support! I really enjoyed working on this story. Reviews on this chapter would be appreciated as well - to me it felt a bit rushed, what do y'all think?**

**Also, the first chapter of the sequel should be up soon. It shall be called Universal Language: Cuneiform. See you then!**


End file.
